Kinetika
by The-First-Step
Summary: Set During and After First Class. An old friend of Charles and Raven's shows up after his graduation... what is she hiding and what can she bring to the X-men? Slight Charles/Moira then Charles/OC
1. An Old Face

One

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from this Fic except my OC, all credit goes to DC Comics and Warner Bros. Wish I owned James McAvoy though…

Thunderous applause shook the high vaulted ceiling of the hall as Oxford's brightest graduates steeped down, doctorates in hand, to mingle with their guests. Outside rain poured down unrelentingly, an English tradition, however even the dismal weather was unable to wipe the joyful smile off the face of a pretty blonde woman as she threw her arms around the neck of a young man who returned it with a grin of his own from beneath a mess of tousled brown hair. She was a beauty; curvy and dressed in casual splendor for the rather solemn event. He was dressed much more appropriately, handsome with a mischievous smile and a slender, scholar's kind of body. They were both tall and seemed to have stepped out of teenage angst novel. As they broke apart they began to speak to each other happily, the young woman laughing as her companion joked ponderously. Their observer smiled as she read the man's lips, seemed the two of them 'could use a drink'. The dark haired woman, hidden in the shadows of the doorway, quickly turned to leave the crowded hall before the young pair spotted her. However she knew before she had stepped outside that it had been a fruitless attempt, doomed to fail the moment her eyes met those of the slender blonde. Hurriedly the petite woman began to push her way through the crowd, apologizing but not stopping as she sought to disappear from view. She sensed their pursuit but did not turn around to look behind her as she pulled the light grey hood of her jacket over her dark hair in an attempt to blend into the surrounding crowd. From behind her she could hear more apologies as the young couple also pushed through the crowd to keep her in view, the busy street was up ahead and the rain was coming down harder so she rapidly rushed towards it trying to lose her pursuers.

_Adele. _Charles' soft, sensible voice; the one she hadn't heard in almost four years, suddenly filled her mind, clear as it had ever been. She froze, foot poised to step out onto the road, unable to move, unable to even look around at the steadily approaching couple. People moved hurriedly passed her as the rain thundered down, trying to stay out of the wet but Adele could barely feel it. Finally, swallowing her nervousness defiantly, she turned to find her pursuers standing some five or so paces away with their faces reflecting her own shock as they stared at each other across the crowded courtyard. Rain continued to pour steadily soaking her clothes and saturating her hair through the hood but she could not move a single muscle. Charles placed two fingers to his temple, a sign to those who knew of what was to come. Adele panicked and threw up her walls, watching triumphantly as his wondrous blue eyes widened first in shock, then to her surprise in joy. He murmured something to his blonde companion and the pair restarted their casual walk over to where she stood until all three stood beneath her umbrella. Raven's smile was so genuine that Adele couldn't help but return it tentatively. With warning the pretty young woman flung her arms around Adele and proceeded to squeeze the life out of her. Although extremely tense Adele returned it and there were tears in both their eyes as the embraced.

"Oh Del, I knew it was you… oh God I've missed you so much." She whispered as she pulled away, forcing Adele's vivid violet eyes to meet her own warm brown ones. Adele's tongue finally found the strength to move on its own.

"I've missed you too Rae, you look fantastic." She said and Raven practically glowed with pleasure. She disentangled herself from the blonde's arms and turned to find her brother standing awkwardly with his hands buried deep in his pockets as he waited. Distant memories threatened to overwhelm her as she stood in close proximity to a man and her breathing rate increased slightly.

_This is Charles, THIS IS CHARLES. _She reminded herself and with a rush she realized how much she had actually missed Charles, the feel of his arms around her and his cheeky smile. It seemed he felt similarly for a second later they were in each other's arms, embracing each other tightly as he kissed her lightly on the top of her head. Adele breathed in the musky cologne he wore and buried her face in his chest; simply enjoy the long awaited sensation and allowing herself to relax. The memories stirred but she forced them away, not now, she wouldn't think of that now.

_Oh Charles, I missed you and Rae so much. I'm sorry if I hurt you when I left. _She thought miserably, letting her shields down temporarily and felt him jerk slightly.

_Don't be. Oh Elle I missed you too. I'm so glad to see you here. _ He returned silently and they drew back to stare at each other. His gorgeous blue eyes twinkled merrily as he tucked a stray strand of her black hair behind her ear and titled his head to look at her. Suddenly uncomfortable at his studious perusal she stepped back and he immediately stopped. She struggled to smile up at him and spoke out loud.

"Congratulations Charles, or should I say, the all knowing Professor Xavier?" She teased and he grinned. Raven cackled in glee as the three of them settled easily into their old routine.

"Oh don't, it makes me sound old and I'm not technically a professor until I start teaching." He protested cheerfully and Adele smirked then quickly stepped away from them again.

"Well this had been… great but I just came to see the ceremony. I didn't plan on intruding…" She began but Charles cut her off at the tee.

"Nonsense, please Adele," He never used his nickname for her in front of others.

"It would be groovy if you would join Rae and I for at least one drink." He begged and Adele deliberated for a moment. Raven clung to her desperately.

"Please Del, for old times." She begged and with a sigh Adele nodded. Raven cheered, kissed her cheeks and smiled brilliantly as Charles linked his arms through theirs and guided them towards a nearby pub. They found an empty table and sat down, Charles disappearing to buy drinks much to Raven's underaged dismay. Her two older friends teased her as he walked away towards the bar and she sat down and scowled at his retreating form, rolling her eyes as he became distracted by another pretty blonde. This gave the two women an opportunity to talk. Adele pulled out a packet of cigarettes and lit one, drawing a long smooth drag and fixing the blonde with a smile.

"How's it all going Rae?" Adele asked the younger woman and a sad sigh escaped her as the pair watched the newly decorated Charles flirt with the pretty blonde.

"Its not fair, I just… I want…" Raven struggled to find the right words. Adele placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and the two looked at each other… the pretty blonde sprite and the pale mysterious-looking woman next to her.

"You know what I've always said Rae, its what's on the inside that really counts… there's plenty of bitchy beauties out their who can't even compete in the same city let alone the same field as you." Adele said and Raven sighed.

"It's okay for you Del, you don't have to hide who you really are from everyone… I do." She said bitterly and stared at her hands in disgust.

"I can't go anywhere without doing this… hiding who I really am all the time… I just want to be beautiful." She moaned and Adele pulled her into a tight hug.

"You're so special Rae, I just can't believe you can't see it." She said desperately.

"And damn me for being the only one who does." She whispered to herself as they drew apart. Raven still looked miserable but Adele couldn't find the right words to help her so she reluctantly left it alone. A moment of silence followed, Adele took another drag from her half finished cigarette, and a soft cough brought her attention away from where Charles stood by the bar. Looking around she met Raven's knowing look and swallowed nervously.

"So Del, what about you and Charles then?" Raven asked and she jumped guiltily.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about." She whispered over her brilliant blush that showed vibrantly on her pale face. Raven's smirk deepened at the sight.

"Honestly, you and Charles are as thick as it gets sometimes… are you going to try and make it work this time or are you just going to run again?" Raven asked seriously and Adele tried to look anywhere but at her or Charles. Another nervous puff.

"Well honestly Rae, I don't know where you get these things from." She spluttered and tried to reclaim the situation.

"It's a big misunde… Charles!" She exclaimed, glad to see her drink clutched in his hand. Raven flashed her a triumphant look as Charles smiled at her and handed her glass over regally. He frowned at the cigarette but she merely scowled and put it out. He seemed ready to speak but at that moment a friend pulled him away and forced a yardstick into his hand. Adele clapped along with the rest as Charles successfully downed the whole thing bring cheers from all over the pub. Raven gave him a huge hug and they resettled at the table. He seemed more than a little tipsy and Adele smirked at him from over her drink. After a few minutes of quiet sipping he spoke to her.

"So where have you been Adele?" He asked and she stopped smiling instantly.

"England, America… around. I got my Literature Degree from Cambridge and an Honours in Art History." She said happily and he smiled. Feigning a headache he pressed a finger to his temple.

_Law. _He asked and she nodded into her drink, single malt whiskey on ice.

_Good thing too, I needed it a few times. I went through an accelerated course thanks to my… persuasive techniques. _She answered and his eyes widened slightly preparing to ask another question when Raven announced she needed another drink. Adele breathed a sigh of relief as Charles stood, ever the gentleman, and went to get it. Once again getting side tracked. This time it was by a scared looking auburn haired woman who drew him aside to another table and Adele watched with a familiar sinking feeling as they sat down and began to talk earnestly. Charles pressed his fingers to his temple and a knowing long crossed his features as he spoke to her.

"What's wrong?" Raven asked following her line of sight but Adele shook her head, cursing her general lack of telepathic ability. She caught strong feelings of fear from the woman, interest and wariness from Charles and, by lip reading (a skill she was very good at), a sense of strong foreboding in the events to come. Something about mutations… Charles forte. Her eyes widened as she put two and two together; very not good.

"Shit!" She whispered as Charles walked over to them with the woman in tow. He took one look at her and she nodded very slightly. The woman he had with him was pretty, human and with a generally friendly look about her; probably would have been a good conversationalist if it hadn't been for the terror etched upon her face as she shook hands with the two female mutants.

"Moira, this is my younger sister Raven." Charles said pointing to Raven he then turned to Adele and introduced the two dark haired women.

"And this groovy young lady here is my oldest friend Adele McAllister. Girls this is Moira McTaggart… it looks like we're going home earlier than we planned Rae." He said to Raven who nodded and stood immediately. Adele followed suit.

_Not good? _She asked, he shook his head.

_How much do you know? _He asked and she bit his lip.

_Simple situation, not a lot of details. _She answered and he tapped his head questioningly. She frowned and shook her head.

_You were too far away._

_You're improving, I remember a certain someone used to faint. _He teased and she blushed as he led them all outside and hailed a cab. She paused as the trio entered the awaiting cab ahead of her. She couldn't. Charles sensed her nervousness and got out of the cab again. He faced her and took her hands in his.

_Please Elle, come with us… I can't loose you again. _He begged, not even needing to put his hand to his temple, and she looked up at him timidly. She sighed heavily but didn't move. Desperately he squeezed her hands, his blue eyes met her violet ones and the outside world faded. For a moment it was just them, like all those years ago.

_Elle… please." _He begged and pressed a kiss to her fingers. Something broke in her and she nodded.

"Fine, but I'm not flying coach." She said and he grinned, that wonderfully cheeky grin that made her think of all the old times when they were kids. Raven who had been watching smiled.

"I'm sorry Del that we ruined your plans, but I'm so happy you're coming." Raven cheered.

"It's fine I suppose, home sweet home is where we need to go." She said and stepped inside. Smiling reassuringly at Moira she rested her head against Charles shoulder as they drove off into the rainy London night.


	2. Home is where we need to Go

**Two**

"No fucking way." Adele whispered as she looked down at the ticket Raven held out to her. She grabbed it and stared at it with growing trepidation. The younger woman's smile widened at her older friend's look of horror as she gazed down at the tiny slip of paper in her hands, paper that clearly told her she would be spending the next 14 hours in trans-Atlantic coach style. Raven sat down and closed her eyes in anticipation.

"Charles!" Adele yelled and the owner of that name peered cautiously out from behind a large potted palm in the lounge area of the terminal. Adele snarled at his handsome face, which paled rapidly.

"Yes my dear." He called from his safety position and even Moira smiled a little at the obvious terror in those three words. She and Raven were now seated next to each other and were watching the conversation like spectators at a tennis match. They shared an amused glance and waited.

"I bet five she kills him?" Moira whispered and she and Raven shook hands. Raven smiled and watched the two people she loved most behave like a pair of five year olds. Yep it was just like old times.

"What did I say about flying coach?" Adele asked sweetly and Charles visibly swallowed. A smart man would have lied but at that moment Charles Xavier was not a smart man.

"Not to do it." He offered and she pounced, sprinting to the potted plant with surprising speed for such a tiny person. Being only 5 ft. 5 people tended to misjudge her abilities… Charles was not one of these people. He quickly jumped one of the rows of seats and backed away; hands held forwards in surrender. Many people were watching and all of them had looks of sympathetic amusement.

"Adele, they were the only ones left and we have to be in Washington on the next plane out of London." He said, trying to placate his annoyed friend.

"You know I hate flying coach, you know that… why the fuck you do it?" She demanded and he sighed as she came nearer and nearer, a dangerous look on her face.

"Please Adele… you know this is important and please stop bloody swearing." He begged, flicking his brown hair out of his eyes to keep her in constant eyesight. She frowned angrily but stopped just before him. He towered over her but at that moment his 6 ft. frame cowered before her wrath.

"I know that Charles Xavier, it's the only reason and I mean the only bloody reason, why I'm actually going through with this." She said, jabbing his chest with each 'o' sound and he relaxed a touch.

"But man you owe me big time." She exclaimed and he nodded sticking out his hand tremulously. Under the watchful eyes of everyone in the lounge the young couple shook hands solemnly.

_I truly am sorry Elle._

_I know, but you still owe me._

_What? _

When I've thought about a suitable punishment you can bet your sorry ass you will be the first to know, believe me.

He swallowed and let go, moving towards the gate where passengers were now lining up to board the plane. Together the four of them boarded and set out to find their seats. Yet another problem hit the group.

"Well this day just gets better and better." She muttered as she realized the seats were separated. Charles found himself wedged between Moira and Raven whilst Adele, with a petrified squeak, sat herself down on the aisle side seat next to an ugly middle-aged man who smelled strongly of burnt apples. She sat tense and disgusted as his eyes fixed themselves solely upon her breasts, never moving even when she coughed to warn him, futilely, to behave. For some reason, although tiny, having no height, limited muscle to her arms or legs and no buttocks worthy of mentioning, Adele was cursed to being top heavy for the rest of her life ever since puberty set in. At first she had kept her jacket on and crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to shield them from view however eventually the heat of the small space forced her to remove it and she was left exposed to this perverts hungry gaze. Horror washed over her and she was frozen as he continued to gaze unabashedly at her chest until in a belated blast of frustrated terror she used her gift to pull his belt to its tightest girth and, as he hunched over to loosen it forced the tray-table down on the top of his forehead as hard as possible. He swore and finally looked away, nursing his stomach and forehead allowed her some small respite from his staring. Raven who had seen the whole thing was doubled up with laughter until she caught sight of Adele's face and stopped.

"Are you alright Del?" She asked across the aisle and frowned at her feigned nonchalance.

"Don't you dare lie to me, what's wrong?" She demanded but Adele waved her off with a roll of her eye and a smirk. Eventually the blonde dropped it and Adele tried to relax in her chair. She closed her eyes and settled down to sleep.

A hand on her thigh brought her to a jerking start.

"Shush, if you stay quiet I'll be nice." The man whispered in her ear and she looked around to see everyone around was either asleep or nodding off. Terror washed over her but her vocal chords her paralysed and she could not speak.

"That's it, stay quiet… good girl." The man cooed in her ear and his hand slipped from her thigh to her breast. He pitched the nipples roughly and tears welled in her eyes at the pain. He kneaded the breast themselves then moved back to her hips, stroking and pinching the tender flesh beneath her top.

"Spread them." He said and she froze, terror making her limp.

"Very well." He muttered and slipped his pant down the front of her pants and under her panties. His rough fingers scraped at her most tender flesh and tears fell unheeded down her face.

"Please stop." She begged and he laughed. He took his sweet time and when he had finally tired of tormenting her rolled over and fell into a deep sleep. Hatred welled inside her and she smiled as the seatbelt curled around his waist tightening with every breath he breathed out. Soon it was even thinner then before, cutting off the breath in his lungs. He gasped and awoke but she merely feigned sleep, keeping the belt tight until the last possible moment. A calming memory entered her mind, Charles and her lying in his Westchester library laughing hysterically on their backs upon the floor after a huge party, brought her back to her senses and she let him go. Terrified at what she had been about to do Adele tried desperately to fall asleep, almost succeeding as the plane began to descend.

The moment they touched down Adele was up from her seat and out of the plane before anyone else had moved. Raven and Charles called out to her but she ignored them as she ran to the bathroom. Crouched over one of the toilets she dry retched into the porcelain bowl until she no longer could then simply sat down on the cold white tiles and sobbed. Eventually she figured she needed a strong drink and stood up. The others found her waiting for them at one of the bars, drink in hand and a lazy smile on her face. Charles frown and pressed his fingers to his temple.

_What happened? _He asked Raven who jumped slightly but answered.

_Some disgusting pervert on the plane… I don't know what really happened, you'll have to ask her. _She replied and shuddered and the dangerous gleam that suddenly entered her brother's usually kindly blue eyes. She smiled at Moira and led her away towards the baggage area. Adele watched through hooded eyes as Charles walked over and sat down next to her, taking her hands in his and gazing into her tired violet eyes. Of all the things Charles had missed about Adele it had been those eyes, they were so beautiful and rare he couldn't bring himself to look away until she blinked and the moment was gone. The shield came down and he couldn't see through anymore. She wasn't his Elle anymore, something had happened and he wished he knew what.

"Are you alright Elle?" He asked and she shook her head. He took note that a smile touched her lips at the old nickname but didn't say anything about it.

"Nothing changes does it?" She whispered quietly.

"What do you mean?" He asked and she sighed heavily.

"Raven can't even walk down a public street being herself for fear of people fearing her or hating her, the world can't stay safe for five fucking minutes and its always up to us to bloody sort it out and I can't get on a fucking plane without some bastard ogling my breast the entire trip and putting his hands…" She stopped and took a deep breath to calm herself. She realised the glass in her hands to her lips but didn't drink it. Charles felt fury unlike anything he'd ever felt before well inside him but controlled himself as he squeezed her hands gently.

"I can't even get drunk anymore… god its depressing being me sometimes." She whispered dully as she placed the glass back down on the table. Charles couldn't help it, he grinned.

"I promise Elle, the moment this bloody mess is over. You and I will go to the nearest pub and get so piss-drunk that we can't see straight." He said and she looked up into his face and laughed. Fancy that Charles Xavier trying to swear, it was like Christmas come early. She nodded and he pulled her into a tight embrace. He kissed her softly on the top of her head and, wrapping an arm around her shoulders guided her through the terminal and out to where Moira and Raven waited beside a taxi.

Some time later…

"…and it may be that these changes may have already occurred in this generation with individuals already living amongst us. Thank you." Charles finished his presentation and sat down in the hard backed chair that was identical to the ones in which all the executives of the CIA were seated in. Adele sat next to him and her hand clasped his beneath the table, drawing an ugly look from Moira, and gazed around the room at all the stern-faced men around her.

"Agent McTaggart you've just earned yourself a one way ticket to the typing pool. Do you think that listening to some crack pot professor is going to make me believe in sparkling women and disappearing men? Get out." An aged looking man director commanded the auburn haired agent and stood to leave.

"Sit down Moira please." Charles said and didn't need a telepath to tell her he was pissed.

"Director I knew you wouldn't believe me seeing as the only thing you could think of during my presentation was what kind of pie they're serving for lunch, it's apple pecan by the way." He said to the man and Adele shared an amused glance with Raven who looked extremely young in this very adult room. Charles turned to face Moira and an apologetic look crossed his face.

"I'm sorry but I haven't been entirely truthful you see." He turned back to the director.

"One of the things my mutation allows me to do is that I can read your mind." He said deliberately. The director scoffed. He and the man next to him exchanged amused glances.

"I've seen this parlor trick before, are you going to ask me a number between 1 and 10 and multiply it by 5?" He jeered and Charles smiled patiently whilst Adele began to suppress the urge to throw something.

"No Director but I could ask you about your son William isn't it? I know your very proud of him, however I'm much more interested in the reason why American missiles are being sent to Turkey." He said quietly and the room flew into total chaos. Everyone started to yell, argue and many stood up.

"He's a spy, you've brought us a god-damned spy." Moira's boss yelled at her and she too stood up and began to protest. Charles, Raven and Adele exchanged brief looks and suddenly Raven stood and shifted into a mirror image of the Director. The room fell deathly silent as all people present were stunned into silence, Raven smirked at them all and Adele and Charles smiled at each other.

"How's that for a parlor trick?" Charles asked the amazed room.

"Best I've ever seen." Said a portly man at the back of the room who none had really noticed before and the room slowly came back to life.

"I want them in lock down until I know what to do." The director said and the man spoke again.

"My facility is off sight, I could take them." He said and Charles nodded. Raven shifted back to her original form and they all turned to leave.

"What can you do then?" One man asked Adele as she passed grabbing her arm and made her gasp in fright. Charles moved to stand beside her and she looked up at him. He smiled encouragingly and she stepped forwards with a small grin. She pointed towards a chair with a lazy wave and it shot straight into the air and hung there as though suspended on a string. It was soon joined by a whole host of objects that were not tied down or were breathing, although many would swear later they had left the floor momentarily. Chairs, the table, pens, glassed and even the projector were soon floating haphazardly around the room much to the amazement of the men in the room. Charles, eager to be going, placed a hand on her shoulder; making her jump slightly.

Sorry.

_You owe me._ She joked and he grinned.

"I'm telekinetic." Adele said and soon had everything back in its initial position. The room was silent as a tomb and she shuddered.

"Come with me." The portly man said joyfully and the mutants quickly left the silent conference room.

I've been the laughing stock of this agency for years but I always knew there were people like you out there." The portly man was saying excitedly as they moved out into the car park.

"I'm sorry to say that my facility is a little small, funding you know…?" He continued.

"That won't be necessary." Charles cut in as the four made their way through the rows of parked cars.

"What?" The man asked, confused and Adele grinned.

"Well, while we've been walking around Agent McTaggart and I have been having a lovely little chat and she got a lead on Shaw. We need to go now or we'll miss him." Charles said as Moira pulled up in a large black car. Adele was impressed; he hadn't even had a hand to the temple. Moira smiled through the window at him and opened the door. He grinned and ushered everyone inside. Adele smiled coldly as she and Raven got into the back.

"I can't I have to take you to the facility." The man complained.

"Want to see another trick?" Charles asked and the man affirmed.

"Get in the car." Charles said whilst pressing his hand to his temple. Ah there we go. The man nodded and got in next to Raven who was squished between him and Adele. Charles sat in the front and he and Moira exchanged a glance that made Adele's heart contract sharply from within her chest. It was just like four years ago but there was nothing she could do now. Swallowing a bitter lump in her throat she turned her face away and stared morosely out of the window. She desperately needed a cigarette, and a drink.

_Fuck men. _She thought bitterly.

Putting pedal to the metal Moira drove the car out into the setting sun and towards the coast. Raven shot her friend a worried glance but Adele refused to look her way or even acknowledge that there was anyone else in the car. She coughed to draw Charles attention and her brown haired moron of a brother looked at her questioningly. She indicated towards Adele and immediately his eyes snapped to his dearest friend and a worried look entered his gaze. A frown creased his forehead and she realized with a shock that Adele did not trust any of them anymore and that she wasn't allowing Charles inside her head. Those two had been close, inside each other's heads more often then not all through their childhood, this had always had Raven at an annoyed loss. Now it was a worrying sign that her best friend had changed since she had disappeared, what good was bringing her home if it was even Del anymore? Raven settled herself back into her seat and crossed her legs whilst Moira explained the Shaw situation.

_The mission, think of the mission. _She repeated internally until they pulled up beside a large, official looking vessel that awaited them in a dark dock. The five of them got out of the car and walked up the gang way. Raven watched as Adele moved to stand by the railing, her black hair whipping around her pale face as she gazed out into the dark. Charles moved to stand next to her and bent to talk to her but she turned away and refused to speak.

"Shit!" Raven swore as she watched her brother's shoulder's slump and her best's friend's dreams shatter.

**Like? Don't like? Please review it feeds my soul and helps me write more for you wonderful readers. **


	3. Can't Touch

**Three**

"Elle please, what's wrong?" Charles asked worriedly as his oldest friend continued to stare out into the dark. The naval vessel they were on was plowing steadily towards Shaw's rendezvous and the wind had picked up considerably as they progressed through the night. Charles felt sick; Adele had never been this way before. All through their childhood they had been at times even closer then he and Raven, having similar mutations meant that more often then not conversation had been inside their heads, they had had no secrets from each other. Now here she was hiding, something she had never done in all the time he had known her and it genuinely frightened him.

"Elle?" He begged and she turned to him with a sigh.

"There's nothing wrong, I'm just tired from the trip." She said calmly and he had to hand it to her, she was an accomplished liar.

"Don't lie to me." He said softly and a small smile spread over her face.

"I never could with you, even when it was your birthday." She laughed a little at the memories then sunk back into her lachrymose mood.

"Don't worry about me Charles, I promise you it's nothing." She said and he frowned, still unconvinced. He opened his mouth to say something when the flood lights at the top of the ship suddenly flicked on drawing his attention away and towards the ocean in front of them that was now lit up as though it were still day time. An expensive-looking white cruiser sat on the water directly ahead and Charles ran to the front of the boat to get a better view. Adele raced after him and, perched beside Raven and Moira, gazed with slight trepidation towards Shaw's vessel.

"There's something very wrong about all this." She whispered to Raven who looked at her apprehensively.

"What?" She asked but Adele shook her head.

"It's just a feeling, let's call her intuition." She joked and Raven smiled through her nervousness.

"I can't get through." Charles said and even Adele started in shock.

"What?"

"There's someone like me on that ship, I can't get through. Oh this is fascinating." He continued happily and Adele fought with an amused grin.  
>"Like you?" The CIA manager asked and Charles shook his head apologetically.<p>

"A telepath, I'm sorry but it looks like I'm not going to be of much help to you I'm afraid." E said regretfully when Adele suddenly felt a ripple in the air. Being a telekinetic meant that she could move objects around her with the force of her mind, a bonus gift of hers being a sought of second sense to other mutants powers when they were being used.

"Charles, there's someone else out there." She said and Charles shot her a worried look.

"Yes and their so angry." He murmured softly, straining to see in the dark. Suddenly the cruiser's giant anchor was hoisted clean out of the water, twisting and hovering like a cobra about to strike.

"Shit!" Adele whispered and gripped the railing in front of her until the knuckles shone white. Suddenly, like the serpent it so resembled the anchor suddenly plunged into the side of the ship and ripped through it as though it were butter. Raven gasped as the ship began to catch alight and Moira started yelling orders at the crew. People were running everywhere including Charles who was running to the side of the ship, hand to his temple.

"Erik!" He yelled and Adele suddenly realised what was happening. The ship's bottom had opened and Shaw was escaping in a submarine that had been hidden there unbeknownst to everyone. She knew this because the man in the water was trying his hardest to make it stop.

"Charles don't!" She screamed as her friend, ignoring her cries jumped straight into the water.

"Charles!" She screamed and tried to find the submerged machine. The man, presumably called Erik, still had a mental hold on the sub and was being dragged along behind it. She leant her own support, not to stop it completely but to allow Charles a chance to find the man and hopefully get him safely to the surface. She struggled to keep the sub in place, feeling its phenomenal tug as her mind strained to hold it and clutched the railing tightly, feeling all the energy beginning to drain from her body. Her legs were shaking and her head was beginning to pound like it never had before; her stomach was doing jack jumps and she was feeling very ill. She hadn't worked with something this big for years. Small things like tables and chairs were a breeze and even people or cars on the odd occasion but she'd never moved an entire submarine before.

_Charles you have to hurry, I can__not hold this bloody thing much longer._ She inwardly bellowed and felt the moment when Erik finally let the submarine go. She felt his anguish, pain and fury and pushed it aside to run to the side of the ship where Raven and Moira were also crouched. Charles' head burst from the white, foaming water and another man's next to him. They waved and began to swim over to the side of the ship. Adele was there in an instant, helping the man called Erik in first and giving him a brief smile (a shocked expression the result of that action alone). Charles' hand found hers and she heaved him aboard with host of muttered swear words. He lay there panting next to Erik and the two of them shared an amused look.

_Oh brother._ She thought bemusedly, then felt the whole world slip sideways and crumbled to the deck in a dead faint…

She was in someone's arms. That was the first thing she noticed when she came to.

"Charles…" She whispered and struggled to stand up by herself. She fought to stand and tipped herself out of Charles arms causing hm to panic and nearly drop her.

"Adele!" He exclaimed shocked at her violent movements.

"I'm fine Charles, just let me stand." She commanded and he stepped back, a wounded look on his face. She turned to find Raven, Moira the CIA manager and the light haired man called Erik gazing at her curiously. She shrugged and simply indicated for them to keep walking. Erik shot her an amused look and she quirked a brow in his direction. Definitely the cheerful sort, she commented as she began to follow his slim form. He was taller than Charles, thinner and with much shorter hair. He had blue eyes like Charles but unlike her friend's friendly, shining orbs this man's were cold and filled with the saddest pain she had ever seen. She shuddered but followed him to the car, sat down next to him in the back and didn't say a word the entire trip to the facility.

"And this is where all our technological experimentation is carried out, headed by our own Dr. McCoy." The portly CIA manager said, bringing the tour to an end. They were in an enormous hanger and a young, scholarly looking man appeared out of the shadows.

"Oh, Hank glad we didn't miss you. These are the new recruits I was talking about…" The man continued and the young man stepped forwards.

"Hank here graduated for Harvard at 15 and heads our research facility."

"Oh excellent another mutant already here, who come you didn't tell us?" Charles asked stepping forwards, shaking the young man's hand exuberantly and turning to face the CIA director with interest. A look of horror crossed his face and Adele's heart sank.

"Charles…" She sighed and Hank looked like someone had punched him in the stomach.

"Because you didn't know." Charles answered softly and turned to face Hank with an apologetic look.

"I am so sorry." He whispered and Hank shook his head.

"Oops." Erik muttered right next to Adele's ear and she jumped. She scowled playfully into his face and poked a finger at him.

"Excuse me but I expect a good lady such as myself to feel safe a secure in this facility and I expect you to behave not scare me half to death in your roguish ways." She threatened haughtily and he smiled thinly.

"A good lady? When you find one let me know and I will be most happy to comply." He teased and she grinned.

"Oh you unspeakable cad." She mocked, shaking a fist under his nose. His smirk broadened then a serious expression overtook it.

"I understand that I have you to thank for trying to slow that submarine down, Miss…?" He asked and she nodded.

"Uh Yes, Adele McAllistar and you are Erik…?" She asked and he smiled.

"Lenserr. I believe however it was probably for the time being, the best thing for you to have let go… I have a feeling that one day you will get your day." She said seriously and he looked shocked.

"Are you a telepath like Charles?" He asked and she shook her head.

"Telekinetic, more like your own mutation but I can control a wider range of objects." She said and he looked interested.

"He would have loved you." Erik said, almost to himself and descended into a deeper mood. Just as Hank, who d removed his shoes, did a sumasault and attached himself to the hanging model of a strange looking plane above them. Charles clapped and looked excited, the manager looked impressed, Moira seemed more than comfortable being surrounded by mutants and Raven… Raven had an expression o her face that Adele had never seen before. It was more than open admiration.

"Well I'll be fucked, of all the people she could have…" Adele trailed off as the group slowly disbanded. Charles beckoned her over to where he, Erik and Moira stood with the director.

"Seeing as those two are busy it seems us adults," She grimaced but nodded,

"Are to start thinking of recruitment ideas." He continued and she sighed.

"Because we are to be the new Division X right?" She pointed out and he nodded.

"Where did Erik go?" She asked and the group realised that the man had slipped away. They turned to find him and a sheepish looking pair of mutants coming there way. As he approached she couldn't help but catch Erik's sleeve.

"Couldn't give them five more minutes, he might have go some. Looks like he needs it too and Raven… well its one up on Professor Xavier over here.' She teased and he quirked an eyebrow at her while grinning slightly.

"After you my dear." He said mockingly and she frowned.

"I'm no ones dear, got it?" She whispered fiercely and paled as she saw Moira laugh at something Charles had said to her. She fixed the pavement with a steady gazed but didn't miss Erik's quiet.

"No, you most certainly are not." To hurt on both sides to say anything she kept walking and refused to say another word all evening.

The next day…

"I've never been able to test this out before however I'm pretty sure that there should be no problems." Hank called as he worked his way around the machines. They were inside a giant bubble shaped observatory that housed a device that supposedly helped find mutants. Charles and Erik had been talking to the director all morning and eventually a middle ground had been reached.

"Cerebro amplifies brainwaves, mutants have a different pattern to most humans and I'm sure that by using this we can find them." Hank continued and Charles chuckled as he stepped towards the middle of the room where an odd helmet like contraption stood in between two handle bars.

"Cerebro, as in Spanish for brain." He commented and Hank nodded.

"Well now I know how it feels to a lab rat." Chares commented smiling at Adele as he stepped forward to take the helmet.

"Trust me Charles, this is the least of your worries. I've been a lab rat, I know." Erik said lightheartedly from beside her and she turned to stare at him. Charles had explained to her, even though she had been little in the way of conversation; that Erik had been in the concentration camps of Germany and had lost his entire family there. It explained the pain and anger towards Shaw aright, apparently he had been a warden there and Erik had been on his trail for years now. With a sigh she turned back to see Hank securing the helmet to Charles' head.

"It would be easier if you let me shave your head." He said and Adele couldn't help it she sniggered loudly. Everyone turned to look at her and Charles smiled.

"Don't touch the hair." He said firmly and Hank sighed.

"You are much too fond of it Charles," Adele teased and Charles closed his eyes.

_Yes, and I don't plan on changing that opinion any time soon. _A sot voice informed her and she shook her head bemusedly.

"Three… two… one." Hank said and switched on the machine. Charles yelled and grabbed the poles beside him, Raven and Adele looked at each other worriedly then to the machine. It was flickering and the needle working backwards and forwards at great speeds finally settled into a pattern and began to fork out proper patterns. Adele clapped happily.

"It works!" Hank shouted happily and Raven gave him a hug.

"Of course it does." She told him happily and one again that look of shy adoration flew to her features. They stared at each other then panicked and stepped away to focus on different parts of the machine. Erik and Adele gave each other a look that was as cynical as it gets. The machine dinged and Charles lifted the helmet with a triumphant look on his charming face.

"Adele, pack a coat." He said and strode towards the door. Adele looked at Erik who smirked and ushered her towards it.

"Why oh mighty Xavier?" She asked mockingly and he looked at her curiously.

"Because where you, Erik and I are going it might just get a little bit chilly." He said and she sighed, ever annoyed at the male races inability to just get to the fucking point.

"Fuck men. She whispered under her breath as the three of them, co ordinates in hand stepped into the car and set of to their newest recruit.

"No you wait out here." Charles commanded and Adele rolled her eyes.

"Really, I won't look any less of a prostitute if I stay out here rather than go in there with you two, just let me come in." She demandedbut Charles wouldn't here of it.

"It is not a place for you to be in Adele." He said firmly and she scowled.

"What was the point of bringing me then?" She demanded and stormed off to smoke on the corner. From her vantage point she watched with no small amount of amusement as Charles and Eik walked into the strip club.

"Fucking hypocrites, god I need a drink." She said as she took another long puff on the cigarette in her hand.

"You offering specials darling?' A sleaseball of a man asked and she spat n the ground at his feet, violet eyes blazing.

"Keep walking you fucking piece of trash." She said and the man's eyes glowed dangerously.

"Be careful how you speak to me whore, you don't know who I am.' He said and moved into the light of the street lamp. He was thickset and large nosed with such a foul smell radiating from him that it made her gag slightly.

"I so do, you're just some ugly bastard who couldn't get laid with a two cent hooker from Amsterdam." She said bitingly and flicked her cigarette to the floor. She wasn't going t let another plane accident happen ever again and this man would get it if he stepped any closer.

"Bitch!" The man roared and flew at her with a drunken lurch. She slipped easily underneath his arm and turned to kick him into the curb.

"Keep your filthy hands off me or you will regret it." She spat disgustedly. He came at her again and she merely flicked her wrist in his direction and sent him flying into the wall. He hit it with a thump and slid to the floor.

"What are you?" He whispered, terrified.

"A pissed off woman waiting for a friend, now fuck off and leave me alone." She said and watched as he ran off down the street. A few minutes later Charles and Erik walked up to her, a tiny, beautiful Latino girl walking beside them. She was obviously a dancer and gazed at Adele hostilely. Adele merely stuck out her hand and smiled at her.

"Trust me sweetheart, I'm the least of your worries right now. What's your name?" Adele asked and the girl smiled.

"Angel." She said and Adele nodded.

"Well Angel I can see these two didn't think of trying to make you more comfortable; men… you can't live with them and can't live without them." She said mockingly and shrugged her jacket off. She handed it to the girl who was clad in a tight strippers outfit and the young girl shrugged the grey jumper over her head. She smiled at Adele and the two of them climbed into the back of the car whilst the two men hopped into the front with twin looks of confusion on their faces.

_Can't live without us? _Chares asked and she smiled bitterly.

_Oh please Charles, I learnt to do that a long time ago._ She answered not feeling as triumphant as she would have liked at the look of hurt on his face as they drove away.

Over the next few days Charles, Erik and Adele traveled all over America in search of mutants who showed up on Cerebro's list. There were four new recruits including Angel. Darwin, Alex and Sean had all been recruited soon after meeting Angel ad now all four were safely back at the CIA facility. They were all getting accustomed to the place but Adele was beginning to feel the need to leave. She couldn't watch it anymore. Charles and Moira seemed to be spending more and more time together as the days went by and even Raven seemed too busy with her developing feelings for Hank. Adele had been right in that case. The two of them had spent the first night discussing Raven's newfound feelings for Hank and the fact that Hank was going to try and find a cure for her outward mutation. The blue skinned girl had been sitting in her bathrobe on her bed and Adele had come and fixed her with a serious expression.

"I don't think that you should mess with these things Rae, I have a bad feeling about it." She had said and the girl had gone very quiet.

"What would you know?" She had asked and Adele's heart had stopped.

"I can't know Rae, and I'm sorry that can't but I'm just trying to think about this objectively." She had said but Raven had lost it.

"Objectively! Since when do you look at things objectively?" She had screamed and run into the bathroom in a flood of tears. It had taken an hour to coax her out again and the pair had yet really get back to their original position as confidantes. Sighing Adele leaned against the window sill, staring out into the grounds of the facility. Raven was her sister in all but blood yet it seemed there was much she didn't know about her.

"I really know how to fuck things up, maybe I should leave?" She wondered aloud and heard an intake of breath. She whirled around to find Charles standing in the shadows.

"Oh, Charles… I was… I mean I'm just going to…" She began but he stopped her with a firm wave. He stepped towards her and she tensed slightly.

_This is Charles, THIS IS CHARLES._

"Are you avoiding me Elle?" He asked and for once there was no hint of humour in his voice. The past few days had been tough on them all but it seemed that even the almighty Charles Xavier was suffering as well.

"Of course not." She said and turned to look out the window again.

"Elle, look at me." He commanded and she reluctantly turned to face him. He was standing right next to her, blue eyes staring piercingly through the dark into her violet ones.

"I know something is wrong but you won't tell me what. You never smile anymore, you barely talk to me and I haven't seen Raven this miserable since Mother threw that ridiculous fourteenth birthday party all those years ago… what is going on?" He demanded and took her hands in his. She struggled to take them from his but he clung to them.

"I can't Charles, I can't… please let me go." She said quietly but desperately.

"No Elle, not until you tell me what is wrong." He said softly and she crumpled. She collapsed in on herself and he caught her and held her gently.

"It's nothing Charles, I just cannot touch what isn't mine." She said and he looked up confusedly. She stared into his face and reached up to straighten his messy brown hair. She ran her fingers through the wavy brown strands and he closed his eyes and smiled. It was something she had always done when they were kids; before he had to speak at a party, before his mother had come into the room or simply when they were lying in the library at home and no one was around. He smiled softly and suddenly tears threatened to spill over her eyelids. His own widened and he opened his mouth to speak. A cough brought their attention to the door behind them and they whirled around. Moira stood there and her eyes were cool as she took in the situation. Quickly Adele moved out from Charles' embrace and faced her.

"We leave tomorrow for Russia, tell Erik it's a lead on Shaw." She said stiffly and Charles called out.

"Just go Charles." Adele said softly and her friend turned to look at her, confused.

"She needs you, you two are good together." She said and began to walk away, the tears fighting to break free from their prison. She didn't here him follow but then again she didn't hear him move at all. She ran through the compound, threw open her, Angel and Raven's door and quickly got into bed. She was still beneath the covers when her roommates arrived and still awake long after the girls were snoring. The next morning she smiled and spoke cheerfully as she Charles, Erik and Moira prepared to boa the plane to Russia when all the while her heart felt like someone had sucked it dry of any feeling.


	4. In the Land of the Soviets

**Four**

"Don't you think you were a little harsh on them Professor X?" Adele whispered quietly as the rickety truck they were crammed inside groaned noisily as they rounded a corner, taking them deeper in the Soviet wilderness. They were cramped inside the back of the ancient cargo vehicle like sardines, surrounded by military and frozen to the core by the Russian winter. It was very dark inside; the thing smelled strongly of spilt diesel fuel and seemed ready to fall apart with the next pot hole; Adele's buttocks bore painful testimony of the constant barrage of ditches and ruts encountered on their hundred mile ride. Her telepathic friend looked up from his side of the van and frowned at her question.

"Oh please don't call me that." He complained bitterly and she smirked. "Besides Alex was smashing Darwin with the broken leg of a chair, what was I supposed to say… well done?" He asked incredulously and the smile slipped off her face with a sigh. Earlier Erik had recounted the scene of semi-devastation he, Charles and Moira had walked in on while she had been in her room. According to him, Charles had been talking the younger mutants up only to be disappointed when they found Sean, Alex, Darwin, Hank, Raven and Angel causing absolute mayhem in the recreation room they had been left in. Needless to say the room and nearby gardens had been damaged, quite badly apparently, and Charles had made his displeasure in Raven very well known before storming off. To be honest she rather liked the nicknames the teens had thought up for themselves and the adults; she'd managed to scoop up Kinetika, Erik in all his metallic glory had been dubbed Magneto and Charles, as she had previously mentioned, was paying for his education with the title of Professor X. Adele and Erik had been chuckling quietly over the nicknames the entire trip over the Atlantic until finally Charles' patience snapped and he told them to can it much to everyone's amusement. It struck her odd that Charles, who was usually quite patient with Raven's fun loving antics would blow the situation as far out of proportion as he had and made her feelings known on the subject. The Charles she remembered hadn't been nearly as saintly as he was right now and it was kind of pissing her off.

"At least think about the fact that they're still kids Charles." She said and he snorted.

_Arrogant bastard. _She thought privately and rolled her eyes.

"I do but I expected more from Raven, she should know better." He said frustratedly, running a hand through his unruly hair and sighing. Adele actually snarled a little, leaping to her friend's defence.

"You expect a teenager to behave like an adult overnight? You don't even let her drink alcohol Charles, how the fuck is she supposed to act like you when you've never let her out of her cage long enough to try?" She demanded furiously and he flinched. A look of sincere contrition crossed his face and he ran a hand over his face tiredly.

"Your right of course, I pressure her too much… I keep thinking she's you." He said with a small smile.

"I'll talk to her when we get back." He promised and she smiled. Grabbing his hand she squeezed it gratefully, aware of the amused stares from the men around her in the back of the dilapidated truck. She and Moira were tolerated but not at all respected on this mission, most of these men had whispered on more than one occasion about the fact that she should have been at home looking after her children.

_Screw that, I want to see the world first. Besides I'd be a horrid mother. _She thought to herself and Charles smiled at her though the dim space as he picked up on that final thought. She returned it tiredly.

_Be easy with__ Rae, she's… frustrated. _Adele said lamely and struggled to explain when he frowned in confusion. Erik grunted at the obviously silent conversation. Both of them sent him an apologetic look, which he waved away amicably, and he leant his head back against the wall to rest for the last few miles.

_What do you mean? _Charles asked, worried for his little sister.

_She's upset about things but she won't even tell me what or let me help her… so just be careful alright? _She warned and he nodded.

"We've hit a check station. Sorry, it wasn't on our maps." Moira's panicked voice came through the thin wall between cabin and cargo hold and everyone in the back fell silent. Erik sat bolt upright, looking completely refreshed for someone who had just been asleep. No one dared move a muscle as the rickety truck pulled to a shuddering halt and voices outside could be heard speaking rapid Russia. The hand in hers tightened ever so slightly and Adele squeezed it back as the footsteps moved closer to the rear of the vehicle. Panic overtook her; they were going to search the truck!

"No one move, I'll try something." Charles whispered and stood quietly. Not a sound escaped them as the rear doors were opened and wintery sunlight streamed into their hiding spot. Two Soviet soldiers stared directly into their faces and there was a tense moment. Charles' hand was to his temple and a look of fierce concentration flooded his features as he strained to hide them all from detection. It reminded Adele of the faces he pulled while studying for his Finals all those years ago and despite the situation she almost laughed. After what seemed like an eternity, and really it was something ridiculously short like 10 seconds, the Soviets looked at each other and closed the doors, shouting for the truck to move forwards. Everyone let out the breath they had been holding and Charles sat down with a solid thump. Erik clapped him on the back and Charles grinned up at his friend in relief. Everyone looked around and shared identical looks of disbelief and joy.

"Let's not do that again." Adele whispered tensely. Everyone in the back let out a shaky laugh and nodded in agreement.

"I think that is a groovy idea, don't you Erik?" Charles asked and the ex-prisoner nodded grimly but did not answer.

"So, you and Charles are… together right?" Moira asked quietly while the two girls lay on their stomachs watching the Soviet compound through binoculars within a grove of fir trees some two hundred metres away. It was a large, stately white building with neat manicured lawns and handsome doors and windows however the whole placed stank of military presence with the many cruel rings of barbed-wire and small legion of soldiers hovering around the perimeter. Adele jumped and quickly looked over towards the boys who were crouched some ten feet away completely oblivious to her and Moira's conversation. Sighing in relief she turned to face the auburn haired woman who still looked fetching even in a foot of snow and was crouched inside a military hide out. She smiled thinly and shook her head.

"Oh god no, Charles and I well… we've just known each other for years that's all." She said tightly and Moira looked both shocked and the smallest bit relieved.

"Really? I thought… never mind. So you wouldn't mind if I, you know, gave him and I a shot?" She asked quietly and seemed to brace herself for an explosion.

"You know him best and if it's a problem…"

"Shoot, go for it, take a swing; whatever the kids are saying these days, it's all fine by me." She said quickly, the words falling out of her mouth before she could think to stop them. Tears blurred her vision and she realised to that it wasn't fine, not at all. She wanted Charles, she needed him even. Moira couldn't have him, he was hers… or was he? She remembered all the looks the two had shared, the private conversations and her heart shrivelled inside her chest. Fighting back the tears she avoiding looking at Moira and drawing attention to her internal anguish by peering through the binoculars in her hand. A car entered the grounds, a beautiful blonde haired woman inside.

"Really Moira, if you think that it's meant to be… just do one thing for me." She said quietly and felt the woman beside her nod.

"Take care of him, he takes so much upon himself and he needs someone to lean on, however much he protests otherwise." She said and passed the binoculars to the young CIA agent. All traces of tears were gone and she began to scoot backwards as her companion gasped after looking through the telescoping device.

"This is important. Thank you Adele… I'll do my best." She said and dragged Adele after her towards the men who were also looking at the car with interest. Erik was jumpy as he identified the woman.

"We need to wait Erik." Charles said but his friend exploded.

"She's one of Shaw's, his head girl." He hissed angrily and fought to stand. Charles grabbed his jacket and kept him down.

"She was at the club I was servailing too." Moira piped up and Adele strained to get a closer look at this woman. Charles pressed two fingers to his temple and closed his eyes. Arching a brow Adele noticed that one of the soldiers at the door jerked a little and was impressed at Charles' continuing mastery of his gift. There was silence as they watched the Soviet general greet the woman and the two headed inside the mansion. Charles returned with a gasp.

"Shaw's not coming." He said bewildedly and Erik let out a howl of frustration before rising.

"No Erik wait." Charles pleaded.

"If Shaw's not coming I'm going after whatever I can get, she's his head girl… I'll strike him where it hurts." Erik roared and began to sprint towards the house. Charles sprung up to his feet, yelling after his friend as the two of them moved closer to the compound. Adele and Moira followed, Moira gasping with horror as Erik's rage took its toll on the unfortunate security guards who found themselves wrapped in barb-wire before they could say Molotov cocktail. Charles paused momentarily to knock one unconscious before he hurt himself badly then tore off after his friend. Adele stayed longer and carefully uncoiled then men, who were all unconscious, before tearing into the building after her new comrades. The house was almost as grand as Westchester and the master bedroom, where she found her friends and Shaw's lady friend, was nothing short of extravagant. The general was unconscious, sprawled on the bed, and the woman was standing, hands on hips taunting the two men who had come to collect her. She was covered in a shining shield of diamond, literally every inch of her body was made of the sparkling stuff and she smirked through her shield at Charles who looked extremely frustrated.

"Don't bother honey, there's no way you're getting in here while I'm like this." She said confidently and Adele grew tired of her cocky attitude. She was tired, sore, her heart had been shattered and she was feeling just a little towards the PMS side today so with a snarl Adele lifted her hand and flung the woman hard against the gilded iron bedframe behind her.

"It's such a shame you're a diamond on the inside as well or I might had been gentler." She said to the moaning woman and Charles turned to her to complain. A violent gasping brought their attention back and they found the woman whose arms, torso and neck were being slowly compressed by the iron bars she was pressed against, courtesy of a pissed off Erik. She was choking, straining valiantly against the tightening metal and wincing in pain as the circle around her neck actually began to crack the diamond surface of her skin.

"Erik." Charles warned his enraged friend but the man was so consumed with blood lust he merely ignored him.

"Erik stop." Charles yelled and Adele stepped forwards to place a gentle hand on Erik's shoulder just as the woman's rock hard complexion shattered and he released her neck cautiously.

"Go for it; if she tries to go diamond just tap her." He said bitterly and stepped back to let Charles enter her mind. Adele squeezed the muscular shoulder gently and he grimaced.

"I'm fine." He said tiredly and she grinned.

"Hello Fine, my name's Adele." She teased and he grinned thinly.

"A comedian, fantastic." He murmured and she stuffed her hands into the pockets. Pulling out a packet of cigarettes the two of them lit up and began to pace the room together.

"Hey! Just know Erik I'll be here for you, we have to stick together you and I… we both know how the world runs don't we?" She said bitterly and turned away to walk around the room. He looked at her in surprise and followed her. She smiled grimly and pulled back the sleeve of her jacket and pullover to reveal a white stretch of flesh that no one had seen since her reappearance. Making sure Charles and Moira were occupied with Shaw's accomplice she held the arm out for Erik to see.

"Unlike our dear friend Charles over there who I'm still convinced believes in fairies, we both know what it's like to have your freedom taken away, to be somebody's experiment…" She trailed off and pulled the sleeve back down, covering the ugly shackle-shaped, burn mark that wrapped around her wrist like a shimmering snake. It was obvious to Erik that she had been restrained and cruelly and fury welled in him at the thought. He didn't know why he liked Adele, or Charles either for that matter, but the thought of someone harming this little woman made his usually cold blood boil a little. Maybe it was because she had never judged him for who he was or what he had done. He thought back on the night at the Division X facility when he'd told her and Charles about his vendetta to find Shaw and the people he'd killed in the process. The look on her face had been as big a shock for him as anything he'd ever felt before. There had been tears in her eyes and she had smiled at him from her place on the couch.

"You didn't kill people Erik, they were animals. What's done cannot be undone." She said simply and Charles, although reproachful at her use of words, had been about as supportive as she was. Both had simply let bygones be bygones and told him that it didn't matter… the future was what was now important. The two of them were sort of perfect together in that sense. A thought struck him.

"Charles doesn't know does he?" He asked and she shook her head. Taking a delicate draw she looked over to where her friend and Moira stood grilling as much information from their suspect as possible and sighed.

"No, and if I can help it, he will never know. I choose to help because I want the world to change. He's got no idea how much it needs to change and I want it to stay that way… it would destroy him to know Erik. He's convinced that no one can be totally evil but we both know the world is full of sick fuckers who don't have a shred of humanity left in them." She said thickly and took another puff.

"I will tell no one Adele, for Charles sake and yours… he's a good man. Fucking naïve at times but a very good man." He said and they nodded, relapsing into silence. Charles walked over to them with Moira close behind.

"It's worse than we thought." He said and Moira looked white.

"Shaw's doesn't just want a war, he wants a world war. He's convinced that when humans have wiped each other out with their nuclear weapons mutants will rise and dominate to world… with him in charge." He said softly and Adele sighed. He stretched out both his hands and tapped the two other mutants on the side of their heads. The two of them jerked as images of war and destruction filled their minds and Adele fought back a host of swear words as she stepped back.

"We don't have long then." She said and they all nodded. They turned to Emma Frost who glared at them reproachfully as they hauled her to her feet and marched her out of the compound. Erik and Adele looked at each other, both feeling as though something big was coming and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

They took turns watching Emma. Although tightly bound and isolated from human company she was still a threat and none of them trusted her as far as they could throw her which in Adele's case wasn't very far. The plane ride home was a nightmare. Noise prevented them from sleeping and the enclosed space stopped Adele from being totally at ease. She and Charles sat side by side, Moira sat on his other side and Erik was left to sit opposite them next to a smirking Emma who kept looking between Charles and herself. Her knowing smirk was beginning to bug Adele and she wished that the arm were so finicky about strapping things down so she could 'accidently' send something heavy flying the diamond bitch's way.

"Well that is a laugh." She said and Erik growled threateningly. A warning for her to shut the hell up before he made her.

"Shut up." He muttered.

_Bingo. _Adele thought. Emma smiled up at him then turned her attention back to Charles who had both his arms draped around Moira and Adele's shoulders. Moira had fallen asleep, her training making it easy for her to do so, but the mutants were restless and unable to relax at all. The young professor was wary of Emma but there was a small part of him who was happy at the discovery of another telepath… someone whose mutation was extraordinarily similar to his own.

"What's a laugh?" He asked Emma and her eyebrows raised sardonically.

"You don't know… Well done my dear." She said approvingly to Adele who stiffened and glared at her. Anything this woman thought was praiseworthy was absolute garbage in her books.

"You've managed to keep him out…" She said in wonder and a smile crossed her beautiful face as Adele's stomach dropped.

"Not easy I can assure you for he is a most talented… possibly the most talented telepath I've ever come across. Well done." She said and winked at Adele who turned her attention to the floor. Charles stiffened beside her and she felt awful. Erik saw the change and snarled.

"Shut up Frost." He growled but the damage was done.

_I knew you weren't telling me something. _Charles said reproachfully and Adele bit her lip.

_Well, I'm not the same Elle from before… I'm entitled to my secrets Charles. _She fought back bitterly and he frowned. Emma watched in silent glee, her icily proud face twisted in a triumphant smirk.

_Why can't you just trust me Elle, we're friends aren't we?_

_I'm sure you have secrets too Charles… you don't see me pressuring you to spill them every minute of every day. _She complained and crossed her arms defiantly.

_It's for your own good Charles. It's always been for you.__ Please let's not fight, especially in front of her. _She said and closed her eyes.

_Elle… I…_

_Yes Charles?_

_Never mind, but your right again, we'll talk about this later; over that drink that I promised. _

_Oh yes I'd forgotten… for flying coach._ She smiled and snuggled closer to his side. His arm tightened around her and she felt him sigh. Annoyance rolled off Emma at her foiled attempt to cause trouble and discreetly Adele flipped her off. Erik's chuckle told her he'd seen it and he was just as amused as she was.

**I was getting depressed writing bad endings for Adele and Charles, they needed more lovin' and she's about to go through hell so why not give her something good for now? Reviews please **


	5. I Never Left

**Five**

"Rae! Rae, where are you?" Adele called frantically when they arrived back at Division X and she saw the state of the ruined facility. At the sight of it she had flung herself from the car and, looking around desperately for her younger friends, felt her panic begin to rise as well as Charles' own anxiety at his sister's continued absence. Both were trying to hide their fear but were failing miserably. The entire building was in ruins, a smoking pile of broken concrete, twisted metal and burning glass. It was completely destroyed and looked as though someone had set a bomb off inside it.

"Rae!" Adele screamed desperately over the roar of the flames and suddenly, through the dark and smoke, figures began to emerge from the rubble. Raven staggered out of the gloom, shaken and sooty but otherwise unhurt, behind her Sean, Alex and Hank also detached themselves from the burning ruins and moved dazedly towards them. They saw each other and froze.

"Del!" The young blonde cried and the two friends rushed forwards, collided and wrapped their arms around each other in a tight embrace, ricking slightly with relief.

"I was so scared Rae, I thought for a moment we wouldn't be able to find you." Adele whispered and Raven merely clung to her tighter. Over her friends shoulder Adele peered through the gloom and grimaced at the three boys who stood, unsure of what to do, behind her.

"Are you guys hurt?" She asked and they shook their heads. She sighed in relief and flashed them a weary smile.

"Thank God you're all okay… wait where's? No!" She whispered and disentangled herself from Raven to stare at them all, noticing the tears that had suddenly filled their eyes. Charles moved forwards and embraced his sister, bringing actual tears from her as she began to explain through her ragged breaths what had happened. Apparently their 'lead' had been nothing more than a ruse to get the older mutants as far away from the building as possible and an attempt to convince the younger mutants to join Shaw's team. He and two other mutants, a red-skinned, disappearing devil named Azazul and a younger, typhoon-controlling man named Riptide, had stormed the facility, killed any human guards they came across, destroyed Cerebro and convinced Angel to side with them. Darwin had been killed in a botched attempt to bring her back using Alex's superheated energy bolts but it had backfired in the light of Shaw's own mutation; absorbing and expelling energy. This had been Darwin's downfall when he had been unable to adapt to anything that could withstand Shaw's explosive energy. Shaw had then gone on to destroy the entire facility and depart, Angel in tow. All the remaining mutants had entered identical shell-shocked states and Adele watched Charles' face crumple at the sight of their pain. He's never been good with pain and this was a massive blow to both him and the younger mutants… he'd promised to protect them and now one was dead. Feeling the need for calm, Adele fished in her packet for another cigarette.

"That's it, where going home." Charles said softly to Raven who shocked them both by stepping back to stand with her fellow mutants and shook her head.

"Darwin's dead Charles." She said bitterly.

"No, he's dead and we can't even bury him." She said when he tried to interrupt her and whatever he had been about to say dies upon his lips.

"You can avenge him." Erik said quietly from behind them causing the siblings to gaze at him in shock, and in Charles' case, annoyance. Adele smiled privately as she watched the young mutants stand, a new look of determination replacing the vacant look of hopelessness that had been overwhelming them since the attack.

"Erik, a word please." It wasn't a question but as always the request was polite belying Charles obvious indignation.

"They're just kids Erik." Charles said furiously and his taller friend shook his head as Adele went to join them after giving Raven a quick hug.

"No they were kids, give them the chance they deserve Charles. We're the only ones who can stop Shaw and you know it.' He said quietly and Charles sighed, torn between his desire to protect and the need for action. All around them firemen rushed to put out the blaze and Adele feeling guilty for the cigarette she held in her hand, crushed in discreetly beneath her foot.

"They're not ready." Charles said looking towards the young mutants who were now milling around hopelessly. Adele was hit by a sudden epiphany. She smiled.

"Then we need to train, to prepare." She said firmly and Charles rounded on her, aghast.

"You can't seriously want to do this?" He exclaimed and she pulled a face.

"I didn't want to fly couch, I didn't want to leave home, I certainly never wanted Raven to get hurt but hey… that's exactly what's happened. Life's a bitch Charles but when she deals you a rotten hand you've got two choices; to fold in and give up or fight, kicking and screaming, and win." She said and put her hands on her hips defiantly. Erik was smiling slightly and she winked playfully at him, surprised at the tiny frown that flew across Charles face. She dismissed it and pulled out another cigarette, forgetting momentarily her previous guilt.

"I really wish you wouldn't do that, it cannot be good for you." He said and she waved lazily.

"We've all got to die of something Charles, hopefully for me it'll be in a blaze of glory beside you people beating the shit out of Shaw." She said and he rolled his eyes as Erik chuckled. However she put it away and they looked at each other in a temporary truce.

"I know just the place." Charles said and she nodded, a small smile stretching across her face. All three turned around and gathered the troops. In no time the world's only mutant division team plus Moira were piled into borrowed agency cars and speeding steadily towards Westchester… oh home sweet home.

"It seems so horrid Charles; I wonder how on earth you survived it." Erik said mockingly as the eight of them stood outside the house that had been more of a home to Adele during her childhood than her own. She breathed in the familiar scents; cut grass, pond water, summer breezes and a musty perfume that always seemed to hang around the old house. It was exactly how she remembered it; a huge sandstone manor-house with thousands of glass stain glass windows which peered out onto the massive, picturesque English lawns and fountains of the gardens surrounded by sunlight and the distant sound of radio dishes humming in the background.

"It was a hardship, however it was a hardship endured with me." Raven piped up cheekily and stepped forwards comfortably as everyone gazed around in wonder at the beautiful property. This was her place, her sanctuary and to Adele it was like watching a tiger returning to her jungle kingdom. Raven's confidence was returning with every breath she took and it was a remarkable change to the solemn young woman she had been sitting next to her the entire car trip.

Time for the tour." She said happily and, wrapped in her brother's casual embrace, led the group inside the massive old house. Under her guidance the new arrivals were shown all the basics; gardens, kitchen, bedrooms and the other rec rooms scattered around the large house. The floor boards clicked loudly under their feet as Raven slipped back into her old role of hostess like a glove to a hand. Even Adele began to feel distinctly more at ease within these beloved walls. Statues, paintings and antique furniture were ignored and admired inturns until the tour officially ended and they separated. Sean aka Banshee and Alex aka Havok slipped off to find somewhere to prank the sweetly naïve Hank who had been ditched with the unfortunate name of Bozo… Adele simply called him Hank, something he and Raven were both grateful for. He and Raven went off towards the room Hank was hoping to turn into a lab and Adele flashed her young friend a knowing look. Charles and Erik wandered off together, leaving Adele to show Moira where her room was and to actually sort out her own. Adele's old room was between Moira's and Raven's but connected to Raven's through a secret panel they had discovered as children. Smiling goodbye to Moira Adele shouldered her tiny bag and walked to her door, finding it unlocked opened it and stepped inside. It was exactly how she had left it; even the clothes she had flung to the floor and forgotten remained untouched where she had dropped them in her hurry to leave four years ago. Her pale blue curtains were still flung wide, the blue and white patterned covers on her bed crumpled and flung every which way, her walk-in wardrobe door was still hanging open on its hinges and the surfaces of her antique writing desk and white wood dresser were covered in a thick layer of dust, all the photos and mementos she hadn't taken strewn everywhere. Leaning back against the door to close it she sighed and let her bag fall with a heavy thump to the carpeted floor. Without even pointing she began to direct all the mess around her into its original position. Clothes picked themselves up off the floor, folded and flew into the open wardrobe, the covers on her bed lifted into the air, aired themselves thoroughly before settling neatly back on the bed while her photos and mementos found themselves being straightened on her their surfaces. With a final flourish her bag settled itself beneath her bed with a soft thump, her window opened and the room fell silent and still. Fresh, summer coated air washed into her newly cleaned room bringing the wonderfully familiar scents of home with it. Satisfied that her room was once again in order Adele turned and left the room, retracing her steps downstairs to the enormous Westchester library where she had spent so many lazy afternoons with Charles and Raven before life became so much more complicated. As she suspected however there was no one in there so she walked over to one of the shelves, selected a tome at random (it was an interesting exercise that guaranteed a new book every time) and flopped comfortably on one of the brown leather arm chairs with her feet hanging over one side and her head leaning casually against the other side. It took her an hour to finally give up trying to read, it seemed George Elliot was not the author to try and understand after going through hell and expecting more to follow. With a frustrated sigh she placed the book down on the coffee table before her and rested her head back against the seat. In the comfort of the Xavier library her exhaustion finally caught up with her and she was soon fast asleep.

_Flashback…_

"_Please, is anyone there? Please, someone help me! Hello?" She screamed but al__l she heard was the ghostly echo of her own terrified voice reverberating off the metal walls around her. She didn't know where she was, why she was here or even what the time was. She had been stripped of everything except her bra and panties, everything else had been missing from the moment she awoke in her white-wash prison. She was lying on the hard concrete floor of a square, white walled cell of about three metres by three metres (nine feet by nine feet roughly) and the rooms only furnishings were a thin mattress and a toilet. Looking down at herself she discovered a set of matching bracelets and anklets made of some strange looking metal and she couldn't no matter how she tried, remove them from her wrists and ankles. She scratched them, scraped them, bit them everything she could think of and all she got was bloody wrists and ankles. Although they didn't chain her to anything, they were as ominous as a pair of shackles and Adele decided she didn't like them. The floor she sat on was so cold it stung whatever part of her flesh it touched, making her squirm to alleviate the sensation off her buttocks and thighs._

"_Patient 12 you are awake… vital signs appear normal.' A solemn disembodied voice called from behind the mirrored door in front of her. Neon lights made it difficult to focus but she could tell the door was a one way mirror meaning she could be observed but not observe in return. It was disconcerting and she huddled protectively against the furthest wall, drawing her limbs close to her chest __and peering nervously towards the door. _

"_Who the fuck are you and what kind of sick game are you playing at?" She screamed at it and the voice, male she distinguished, came again; the flat, toneless speech of a scientist making a video log._

"_Patient initiates conversation and seems aware of surroundings but has no yet produced side effects of mutated gene known as X. Let the records show that Patient 12 has registered positive to carrying genotype x in prior examinations." The voice continued to ignore her shouts and finally Adele lost patience. Scrabbling to her feet she three herself at the door and began to pound upon it._

"_Let me out right now!" She bellowed and brought her fist back to strike the glass again. The blow never landed. A powerful electric currant, originating from her new jewellery, coursed agonisingly through her body sending her crashing to the floor and making her writhe painfully on the cold cement. Eventually it stopped but her muscles continued to spasm and her breathing was ragged and tear-strained as she fought to gain control over it once more. She struggled to sit._

"_Affirmed response to electroshock correction, behavioural tutoring can now be confirmed." _

"_Shit!" Adele said hoarsely under her breath as she pulled herself to upright. The bracelets tingled ominously against her skin and gathering her failing courage she forced herself moisture less mouth to yield saliva before spitting disgustedly towards the door. Her body was once again subjected to another wave of agonising writhing and she felt her skin being rubbed raw against the concrete beneath her. Eventually it stopped._

"_Patient 12, you will answer all questions truthfully, understood? Failure to answer or false answers will be corrected understood?" The voice asked and, with a small, painful nod from her herself, the questions began. The monotonic voice dragged on and on and, true to its word, every false answer was met with another shock. Although nowhere near as powerful as the first shock it was enough to remind her of what could happen. Curled against the wall, nursing her aching, bleeding body Adele watched through pain glazed eyes as the door was opened and a tall man in a white coat stepped into the room. He had short, dark hair, piercing green eyes concealed behind spectacles and a long beakish nose that made him look like some great bird of prey. He closed the door behind him and crossed over to where she crouched; her violet eyes widening at the sight of a needle clutched in his hand._

"_No, please, no…" She begged as he grabbed her and she began to flail. The pain of electrocution and the shock of the needle made her scream and scream and scream…_

"Elle! Elle wake up its just a dream!" A soft but panicked voice cut through her terror and she sat bolt upright with a gasp. Cold sweat covered every inch of her body and in the dim light she could just make out Charles' worried face. With a small sob she pressed herself into his arms and sobbed quietly against his firm chest, loving the gentle strength in his arms and the feel of his soothing hands softly stroking her hair, back and face. He was murmuring softly to her and she clung to him desperately, his solid presence driving the nightmarish past away for now.

"I wish you would just let me in Elle. I can't protect you if you don't let me." He muttered gently and she suddenly became aware of where she was and what she was doing.

_Moira!_ Her mind screamed at her and she hurriedly moved out of his arms and slouched comfortably against her chair, her head resting on her arm. She forced herself to smile lazily at him as he crouched beside the armchair, it probably looked more like a grimace than anything remotely cheerful but it was the best she could do.

"It was just a dream Charles, they can't hurt us." She said softly and stretched out a hand to straighten his messy brown hair. It was so much like old times that she laughed.

"Care to share love?" And she shook her head.

"I cannot remember now and besides I should probably head to bed… training starts tomorrow and Rae and I are going to need all the strength we can get for gym." She said confidently and smiled into her beloved face. He frowned and sighed as he stood. He gazed down at her from his new vantage point and her stomach fluttered a little.

"One day Elle you'll learn to trust me again but until then… perhaps it is better if we stayed away from each other. You obviously have some issues to sort out and to be honest Elle you don't seem to need my bloody help with any of them." He said bitterly and it plummeted like lead. He turned and walked away towards the door. Tears began to fall unheeded down her face and she stretched out her hand like an infant begging to be held.

"Charles please, don't go. Oh please don't leave me." She said desperately but he merely sighed and whirled to face her. The look on his face made her tears come in earnest; it was total betrayal and sorrow. He hated doing this to her but he couldn't help her in any other way… she had to come to him, not him to her.

"I never left Elle, but you did." He said softly and something inside her snapped. Pain unlike anything she'd ever felt before flooded her body and knocked the breath from her lungs. With an anguished sob she flung herself from her chair and raced past him.

"Well, fuck you Xavier, damn you to hell." She yelled over her shoulder and disappeared up the stairs. She burst into her room, slamming the door behind her and stumbled to her bed in a bleary haze. She fell against it and her hand fell on the bag beneath it.

"Just a small drink." She mumbled to herself and pulled it out, taking the small hipflask of whiskey stored in a secret pocket and bringing it to her trembling lips. She downed the burning liquid in less than two minutes and sat back against the blue cover, hiccupping and rubbing her face with her hand like a tired child. Warmth began to fill her body from her stomach to her toes and she felt very sleepy as the whiskey reached her brain. Dragging herself on the bed she flopped like a fish and closed her eyes.

"No dreams." She mumbled and pulled the sleeping pills, the ones she use to take regularly before re-entering Charles and Raven's lives, out of her bag and popped a few into her mouth. She lay there and began to sob, her heartwrenching cries filling the room and echoing down the hall. Softly, much softer than the cries, she began to mumble; her lips going numb and her limbs beginning to weigh down on the spread like anchors.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Charles. Please forgive me Rae, oh I'm so so sorry." She mumbled and felt her eyes begin to droop. Breathing was hard, it shouldn't be hard. She cracked her eyes open and saw the pill case in her hand and her mouth opened in a gargled scream. She'd ingested four pills, double the recommended dose. A banging on the panel that connected her and Raven's room made her cry out once then she slumped sideways and her eyelids closed.

**Dun Dun Dunnnnnnnnn! What's going to happen? Will she die, maybe I should kill her :P Perhaps it's for the best… she's a very messed up person Elle, but no I've always seen Charles as the hero type and this is not the end… I'm sure. Reviews!**


	6. The Waiting Game

**Six**

"Come on do it! Come on Charles! You said I needed to push myself well I can do this… come on!" Erik begged excitedly and, using Charles cold hands pressed the barrel of the ugly glock into his forehead. Charles held the gun to his best friend's head for a second and almost pulled it. With a huge sigh he lowered it.

"I can't. I'm sorry Erik but I can't shot a man point blank." He protested and wished all the more that Adele were here to back him up. He winced, remembering that his friend would be extremely lucky if she ever woke up again. According to Hank… He shook himself from such thoughts and returned to the problem facing him now.

"Besides," He continued.

"You're not pushing yourself if you know you can do this." He pointed out logically and his friend groaned. He put the gun down to dangle uselessly at his side and prayed he would never actually have to use one. The two of them stood at one of the marble railings just outside the front doors of his house, the neatly manicured lawns stretched out ahead like a flat, green lake and beyond the distant pond he could see radio dishes his father had installed when he was 14. As he gazed out a brainstorm worthy of Adele suddenly hit him. He turned to Erik with a grin. For the last week he had been training the young mutants he had invited to his home and helping them all develop their powers into controlled tools to help with their inevitable stand off with Shaw. All week he had been running himself ragged and he promise that after Erik's session he'd go and see Adele; he was going to enjoy this last one.

"Turn it, if you can turn a dish you can lift a sub." He said to a silent Erik who blanched as he followed Charles gaze to one of the radio dishes. He began to protest but Charles grabbed him gently and turned him to face the dish.

"Try." He pleaded and his friend sighed. Charles watched as his friends face contorted with effort as he strained to even shift the giant dish to face them. Eventually the man gave up, his hands swinging to his sides uselessly.

"May I try something?" Charles asked cautiously, aware of his friend's greatest need for privacy. Erik nodded hesitantly, allowing Charles access to his mind.

_Ah, there it is. _Charles said and dredged the ancient memory from the dark recesses of Erik's mind. It, unlike the tortured ones around it, shone brightly in it's quiet corner an Charles watched Erik and his mother celebrating Hanukah together for what might have been the last time. Pulling out of Erik's head he became aware that neither had very dry eyes and, to put his friend at ease, clapped him on the shoulder.

"That was a beautiful memory Erik, thank you for sharing it." He said and the metal bending mutant nodded dazedly.

"I'd forgotten I even had that memory," He said, fighting to keep the tears back. Charles felt honoured at being allowed to see Erik in this state.

_Will kill __him later for showing me. _He thought and winced, it wouldn't be the first time someone had tried after something he'd stupidly said.

"I unlocked the happiest part of you memory. I find true power lies somewhere between rage and serenity." He said quietly and turned Erik to face the dish once more.

"Try it again." He encouraged and Erik nodded. The look of concentration returned and for a few quiet moments nothing happened then… a distant squeak of metal grinding metal flew to his ears and the dish began to turn itself towards them. He gave a shout of triumph and beside him Erik gasped with relief. He and his friend hugged briefly before grinning stupidly at each other.

"Hey guys the president's making his speech." Raven called from the door and the two of them hurried inside. The whole house gathered around the television and watched as the American President announced war on the Soviets should they cross and embargo line somewhere in the waters off Cuba. After it was finished Charles glanced quickly at a tight lipped Moira ad then turned to Erik.

"I've got to go." Charles said after a moment and Erik nodded.

"Say hello to her for me." He said and Charles grimaced.

"You know she can't hear us right?" He asked Erik who merely shrugged as he walked back into the house with the rest.

"Whatever you say Charles." He said and disappeared. Charles followed him and they parted in the hallway. Slowly he mounted the stairs and walked, like a condemned man to the gallows, down to her room. Cautiously he opened her door and peered inside and saw already Raven sitting beside the bed, her hand clutching Adele's tightly and her head buried into the sleeping woman's stomach. At the sound of the door opening she turned and fixed Charles with the same dead-eyed expression she met him with ever since Adele had… He shook his head to clear it. She was dressed ready for the gym.

"Has she woken at all?" He asked and his sister gave him a dirty look.

"You think I would have still been here if she had, the moment she wakes I'm yelling it from the attic window for all of Westchester to hear." She said quietly and turned back to the woman she had seen as a sister all through her life here with Charles. They both stared down at Adele as she slept peacefully beneath the pale blue and white covers, her chest rising and falling evenly with each deep breath. Charles sat down next to the bed and Raven leant forward to place a gentle kiss on Adele's forehead before moving slowly to the door.

Take care of her, call me if she wakes or…" She couldn't finish and left hurriedly. Charles collapsed the moment the door closed. He gazed at the dresser and pulled a photograph towards him. It was a picture of him and Elle, just after the two of them had graduated form high school. She looked beautiful, her black hair gleaming in the sun and her eyes sparkling with joy at the prospect of finally entering the world. They stood arm in arm outside the hall and he grinned at the look of stupid delight plastered on his face at the time. They'd gone out that night and got absolutely smashed. He didn't remember much after they left the pub. All he could recall was the feeling of warmth and a pair of lips on his own…

"Elle please, if you can hear me, come back. I'm sorry I was a total bastard to you and I'm just sorry for everything I've ever done to make you cry. Please come back Elle, please." He begged and clasped her hand tightly in his. He thought back on his earlier conversation with Hank. The young man could find nothing else wrong with her after he had pumped her stomach of the alcohol and sleeping pills she'd ingested.

_After watching her carefully they realised that she wasn't in a state of trauma induced coma, she was more likely in a deep sleep, something neither had ever come across before. _

"_I thinks it's her telepathy coming into play to protect her somehow. It's not dangerous by any means, something like a very deep sleep." Hank had said quietly to Charles two days after it happened. _

"_When will she wake?" Charles had asked and the young scientist had shaken his head sadly. All of them had felt the departure of Adele like a bullet to the gut. _

"_I don't know Charles, according to her charts she should have by now. There's nothing physically wrong with her anymore… maybe…" He had stopped and Charles pressed him._

"_Maybe what?" _

"_Maybe she doesn't want to wake up." Hank said and left Charles standing beside his slumbering friend, guilt tearing steadily at his heart. _

"Elle, please I need you." Charles pleaded quietly and gripped the limp hand within his. Bowing his head, he closed his eyes and began to wait.

"_Papa!" Adele screamed excitedly and ran forwards to embrace the t__all, handsome man before her. Robert McAllister was just as she remembered. Dressed in his Captains uniform and wearing a smile a mile wide he picked her up and swung her around happily as the two of them laughed happily. They were standing in the Westchester library. All around them books shone as brightly as jewels and the musty smell that seemed the permeate from them filled her nostrils. She pulled back to look into her father's twinkling eyes and he poked her gently upon the nose, something he had always done when she was little, and his smile widened even further. _

"_Oh Papa I missed you so much." She whispered and he stroked her hair gently._

"_I missed you to Elle, I'm sorry I wasn't there to see you grow up into the beautiful woman you are now." He murmured and pulled her to sit down onto one of the couches before a roaring fire that crackled happily within its marble grate. He smiled proudly at her and she felt the guilt well inside her. _

"_No, I'm sorry Papa, I'm sorry I shouted at you that day. I just wanted you to stay with me not go to that stupid war." She said angrily, hating herself as she thought back._

"_I just wanted you to stay with me… I was so selfish." She said and Robert shook his head._

"_No sweetheart you weren't you were 10 years old and wanted you Papa to stay with you." He said and she felt worse._

"_I told you I hated you… I told you to never come back and you didn't." She said and the tears began to fall again. Her father wrapped her in a hug until they subsided then, just realizing where she was, Adele looked around the library._

"_Where are we?" She asked and he smiled._

"_The pearly gates, the waiting room, the line up to beyond; whatever you want to call it Elle. This is your waiting room." He said and she looked around in wonder. _

"_I'm dead?" She asked and he shook his head._

"_That's entirely up to you." He said and she stared at him in puzzlement. _

"_You can choose whether you want to go back, go forwards or stay here… no one can force you." He said and she looked up to see another arching doorway on the other wall of the library. The entrance behind her was carved and ornate, just like the one at Westchester, and it's identical counterpart shone enticingly for the opposite end. _

"_Why would I go back? There's nothing there for me now." She said and her father tilted his head and stared at her quizzically. _

"_Nothing?" He asked her seriously and she frowned. _

"_Why would I go back, it hurts Papa and I'm scared of loosing everything." She said and he clicked disapprovingly. His brown eyes stared disappointedly into her violet ones and he clasped her hands tightly in his. _

"_I didn't raise you to be afraid kiddo. I raised you to be strong and to fight for what you want. When did that change? Prison? After?" He asked her and she felt ashamed. One last ploy at her disposal._

"_What about you? Will I ever see you again?" She asked and he smiled. _

"_Of course Elle, I'll be here waiting for you when the time is actually right. I shouldn't show you this but I can tell you still don't want to go back so… He moved to the mirror above the fireplace. She moved to stand beside him and it changed. It was her room. She was there, in the bed, and someone was hunched over, head buried in their arms beside her. They were whispering something quietly and she strained to hear._

"_Come back Elle, please come back." Only one other person called her Elle._

"_Charles." She whispered and her heart clenched painfully within her chest. She turned to look at her father angrily._

"_Why did you show me this?" She demanded and he sighed. _

"_He has barely left your side the whole time Elle, he loves you kiddo." He said softly and she snorted. _

"_He loves Moira, I'm just the friend." She sad bitterly and he sighed again. _

"_Look." He commanded and she did. Charles leaned closer to her ear and whispered something. A strange sensation, as though invisible lips were indeed pressed close to her ear, was felt near her left ear and she jumped. _

"_Elle, I need you." His soft, desperate voice called and she bowed her head.  
>"Papa?" She asked and he smiled. <em>

"_Go on Elle, I'll be here when you get back." He said._

"_I love you." She said and he embraced her tightly, pressing a kiss o her head. _

"_I love you to Elle, now go." He said and pushed her towards the door. She paused and looked back to say something but her father was gone. She smiled and opened the door into a blazing white light…_

She awoke alone. It was night time and she awoke alone. Tears flooded her cheeks as she realised that once again no one needed her. Her whole body felt heavy, as though it were made of lead, but she fought the exhaustion to push the covers back and stand up. She swayed sickeningly and held onto the wall for support as she crept, painfully slow, towards her wardrobe. Opening it she pulled the white robe from within it and pulled her arms through, tying the strap securely around her waist. The clock on her dresser told her it was close to midnight so she knew no one would be up. Her stomach growled and she moved slowly to her door, down the corridor and the stairs towards the kitchen. She paused outside the lab, something felt wrong and she knocked carefully on the door.

"Go away!" Hank called stiffly and she flinched.

"Hank please, open up for me!" She begged quietly and there was silence.

"Adele, you're awake? Thank God. I can't let you in but in the morning we leave for the embargo line, I'll leave something for you too, and if Charles complains just say I cleared you." He said and she smiled.

"Fine, keep you secrets Hank. I'll see you tomorrow." She whispered and patted the door carefully before setting off once more. Keeping to the shadows she waited outside the kitchen, listening to the now heated conversation.

"For God's sake Raven put so clothes on." Charles agitated voice called and she smacked a hand to her mouth to keep from laughing. Thank god for Raven, always could count on that girl to annoy the sit out of Charles if she need to.

"This is what I had on when we met but then again pets are always cuter when their younger." She said angrily and Adele grew worried. Raven sounded bitter and something else… something had changed.

"And what about Adele Charles. I think I know what happened that night. You and her had a fight, you probably said something stupid and she flipped the lid… she'd hurting Charles and you were too wrapped up in you bloody Moira you didn't even notice!" Raven yelled and the sound of flesh meeting wood sounded.

"Don't you think I haven't berated myself enough for that Raven? Don't you think I know it was my fault? God I don't know where this has all come from but it's not helping us." He said and a chair scraped back.

"Charles she was my best friend and now she's not even here anymore. We leave tomorrow and I may never see her again. This was your mess… she loved you so much Charles." Raven said hoarsely and silence fell over the kitchen.

"What?" Charles asked thickly and Adele swore silently. Using her minimal telepathy she begged Raven silently not to, well to be honest it was more of an influence not to. She waited and the silence continued.

"I can't tell you Charles, only she can and now thanks to you she probably never will." Raven said and moved towards the door. Pressing herself against the wall Adele watched with bated breath as Raven flew out of the room in all her blue skinned glory and ran off down the corridor to her room. She took a deep breath and carefully opened the door, pouring all her concentration into hiding herself from Charles as she walked into the dimly lit kitchen. He was sanding at the table, head bent and hands resting on the surface. His messy brown hair was draping down beside his face and he seemed unaware of her presence. She leant against the door frame and studied him silently.

"You know Charles, I was expecting at least someone to be around when I woke up… it was one of the few reasons I came back." She said quietly and his head snapped up, quick enough to give him whiplash. Before she could move he was in front of her and his arms were around her before she could even register his whereabouts. He held her tightly to him and she felt more than a little sore in some places but she was so happy that he cared she bypassed those feelings and clung to him just as hard.

"Elle, oh Elle I'm so sorry. Please say you forgive me? Oh Elle I though I'd lost you." He muttered and she shivered at the brush of his breath on her neck. He pulled away and she jumped at the tears in his eyes. At the show of emotion her own welled with bright tears and began to stream with steady rivers down her face.

"Oh Charles you hurt me so much when you said you didn't want me around. I have no one else but you and Rae, if you turned me away there was no point in living anymore." She murmured softly and he shuddered violently. He pulled back and gripped her shoulders tightly.

"You must promise me you will never do something like that again. Ever!" He demanded and shook her a little, for a moment she was back in that prison and she gasp and struggled out of his grip. His face filled with remorse and he clung to her again not letting her move an inch.

"I'm sorry Elle, again I'm so sorry." He whispered and she relaxed. Gently she pulled his head back to gaze into his depthless blue eyes, she'd already forgiven him the moment she saw him. He'd looked so broken she'd felt all the anger and resentment simply melt away. She smiled into his face and his arms came around her strong and warm. She rested her head against his chest and simply let herself feel whatever she had kept surpressed for all this time.

"I'm coming with you tomorrow." She said determinedly and he opened his mouth to protest but she beat him to it.

"No Charles, the last time we argued shit happened, if I didn't go I'd never be able to look any of you in the face and besides," She said drawing away to look at him amusedly.

"Hank told me I was free t go." She said and he groaned.

"Please stay, you're not strong enough." He said and she bristled.

"I'm strong enough for this Charles, although perhaps I should get as much rest as possible before we leave. I have the feeling Raven's going to hug me to death so I'll need all the strength I can get." She said softly and stepped out of his embrace.

"Well at least let me escort you back to your room." He said and she smiled. He tried to persuade her against going but nothing he said made a flick of difference and by the time they reached her room he had resigned himself to the fact that whether he liked it or not, Adele was coming on that mission.

"I've been cleared by my doctor and I've had so much rest this past week that any more is not going to make any difference whatsoever." She said outside the door and he sighed resting against the wall beside it. They stared at each other and silence filled the hallway.

"I promise, when we go for that drink, I'll tell you where I've been. No more secrets." She whispered and he had frowned.

"You don't need to tell me anything I've finally learnt my lesson and it nearly cost me your life." He said guiltily and she cupped his face in her hands.

"Look at me Charles. I forgave you ages ago." She said and he looked at her doubtfully.

"Really. This was my fault as well as yours. Let's put it behind us alright?" She pleaded and, after a quiet moment, he nodded. She smiled and straightened his brown hair, running her fingers through his messy locks with relish. His eyes closed and they stood together in the dark, simply enjoying the moment.

"I never thought I'd be able to do that ever again. It feels nice." She said and suddenly the world spun, her knuckles whitened on the door frame and she quickly opened her door to hide her dizziness. He looked at her worriedly but she smiled and gave him a small kiss on his cheek, although all she wanted to do was feel his lips against hers.

"Be a good boy Charles, I'll see you in the morning." She said quietly and he nodded. She closed the door and stumbled to her bed. Within moments she was asleep, but unlike every other night she'd fallen asleep there was a small smile to her lips and no dreams haunted her.

Charles stared at the closed door before him and smiled to himself. Gingerly he lifted his hand to his cheek to touch the spot her lips had touched ever so gently.

"Good night Elle." He whispered and moved to his own room. A door opened behind him and he turned to find Moira staring out from her room. She smiled at him and he returned it tiredly.

"Is she okay?" Moira asked and he nodded.

"She woke up." He said happily and her eyes widened in surprise, there was another look in her eyes but he was too tired to try and figure it out.

"Really? Oh well that's great news. She'll be staying here right? Tomorrow I mean." She asked and he shook his head.

"We all leave tomorrow, first light. Goodnight Moira." He called softly and opened his door, unknowingly shutting it on the now frustrated brunette.

**Yay she'd okay! Alright we've only go the beach scene to go and I can guarantee, like all the other chapters, this one will be a little different. Only one more chapter of this Moira/Charles partnering and I'll get on the new (good) stuff. Please, please, please review! The button's just down there **


	7. The Beach

**Seven**

"You slept with Erik last night didn't you?" Adele whispered to Raven as the two of them lounged around in her room waiting for Charles' call for them to leave. Not that she was sadistic in that way but Adele always enjoyed watching her younger friend squirm and today was no exception. Raven was proudly wandering the room in all her blue skinned glory and her usually flawless brown eyes were their natural golden yellow. At Adele's comment however her whole face sagged in despair and she collapsed onto the blue bed sheets in a bedraggled fashion.

"How on earth could you have known Del?" She demanded, her voice sounding forlorn. Adele sat down next to her and wrapped her arms around her best friend. She pulled back and fixed her with a tight smile.

"Rae, how long have I known you? Exactly. I think as a friend and a woman I can tell when someone close to me had sex the night before; call it intuition." She said and Raven grimaced.

"Please don't tell Charles." She whispered and Adele laughed.

"Hell No! Like I want that coming down on my head like a tonne of bricks. Don't worry I'm not going to tell anyone Rae." She said and the two shared another tight hug.

"Are you scared Del?" Raven asked after another minute or two of silence and Adele paused. She sighed and stared out of the opened window into the still moonlit lawns of Xavier mansion. Turning to face Raven she shrugged.

"I'm always scared Rae, of losing you or Charles. I coming with you today not because I have a strong sense of patriotism or a ridiculous hatred of the Soviet Union but because if I didn't I would go through my life wondering if being there would have made a difference. I'm not afraid of dying, it's probably very peaceful, but I'm terrified out of my mind at the thought of coming back here without either of you beside me knowing that I could have done something to change that." She said and Raven's eyes filled.

"Del we're not going anywhere. I wish I was half as brave as you, I feel sick to my stomach about fighting Shaw." She said just as Charles knocked on the door telling them it was time to see Hank. The two girls shared one last hug before they exited the room and met up with the others outside Hank's laboratory. Adele stood beside Charles and Erik as the three of them read the tiny note stick to the door.

"What you need is in the box marked X." Charles read out loud and with trepidation Adele pushed the door open with her powers just incase, she had a bad feeling about the contents of the room.

"Shit." She whispered as the opened the door onto a scene of devastation. Chairs, tables, blackboards and lab equipment were strew all around the room and there were what seemed to be massive holes in the walls, ceiling and floor that looked as though they were made by an animal. Cautiously they all stepped into the room and Adele spotted a steel box with a giant red X painted across the lid. She ran to it ignoring Charles cry of alarm and the dizziness in her head. Within seconds Erik was also crouched beside her and soon the whole group was crowded around the box. Gentle Charles lifted it and a series of amused glances were shared amongst them.

"I'm not wearing that." Adele said and Charles smirked at her.

"You are if you want to come." He said simply and Erik sent her a bemused expression that earned him a light smack across the head.

"Charles! Restrain your girlfriend please." He said and everyone chuckled except Charles, Adele and Moira who all went from white to red faster than a solar flare. Adele stood up stiffly, grabbing her suit and marched out the door, aware of the numerous stares on her back as she did so.

Not an hour later all seven of them were walking through a large hanger door wearing similar designed suits of black and gold leather that seemed equipped to deal with each of their unique mutations personally. Adele tugged at the long gloves on her arms which stretched to just past her elbows and completely covered the scars on her wrists. The jumpsuit itself was sleeveless, it had a high neck that she had zipped right up to her chin and clung to her body all the way to her ankles. On her feet were a pair of military style boots and were actually a lot more comfortable than they looked but all in all she felt extremely uncomfortable in the figure-hugging black and yellow that seemed to suit Raven's curvaceous body to a tee. Her dark hair was pulled back into a tight bun and her violet eyes darted desperately around the large hanger in search of Hank.

"Where is he?" She asked Charles who shrugged.

_Are you alright Elle?_

**Never better, oh apart from the fact that we're about to risk our lives to stop a nuclear world war that has the potential to blow us all to the moon but apart from that Professor X I'm just fine.**

_Right, thanks for the bout of confidence. You look great by the way stop worrying about it. _

**Oi! Those thoughts are specifically private to me only! **

_I didn't have to read your mind to see it, you look ready to run to the nearest store an buy the largest jacket off the shelf. _

Adele huffed and suddenly went stiff.

**He's coming, but something's wrong. **

_I know. _

Tentatively they awaited his arrival with baited breath until he actually appeared and they saw hat had become of him. Gone was the sweet faced young man with brilliant career ahead of him. In his place was a giant, blue furred beast who, although brilliant, would never be able to bask in the world's praise ever again. He looked straight at Raven and the brown eyes that were still hidden behind thin spectacles spoke of unbelievable pain.

"The cure didn't hide the mutations it enhances them." He said sadly and Erik stepped forward before Adele could stop him. She sensed that inside Hank there was no longer any real control over his wilder side and for now many would have to step carefully.

"You never looked better." Erik said bracingly and in a seconds notice was held in a tight head lock by the enraged young scientist.

"Don't mock me." Hank growled and Raven called out for him to stop. Surprisingly it was Alex who broke the tension.

"I finally decided on your name…" He said and Hank's gaze was torn from Erik who slid to the floor grasping at his neck and getting back to his feet.

"Beast." Alex said proudly and Hank's whole demeanor changed. His head came high and he seemed infinitely more confident as he smiled at them and lead them towards his pride and joy which stood waiting for them to fly them to Cuba.

"Are you sure you can fly this thing?" Alex asked and Hank sent him a look of disapproving hurt.

"I should think so considering I built it." He said and there was no more argument. Adele walked up to Hank and wrapped her arms around his much broader girth. He stood stiff for a moment then hugged her back. She broke away and looked up into his familiar brown eyes.

"Why didn't you just let me in last night?" She asked and he hung his head. Everyone was now inside and they were perched by the door.

"I was afraid you would be frightened, that you would send me away." He said and her heart broke for him.

"Hank how could you think of me as so shallow? I been Raven's oldest friend for years on end and she is still one of the most beautiful creatures I'll ever know. You are something wonderful Hank, damn it to hell that I'm still the only one who sees these things." She said frustratedly and stepped away to climb inside the plane. She found herself settled next to Sean and grinned at the young red head you looked dorkily dashing in his uniform of black and yellow. He sent her a worried grimace in return, his face pale and hands clutching the sides of his seat firmly.

"Everyone ready? Let's go!" Hank called from the cockpit and she felt as the plane left the ground. She relaxed against the seat and closed her eyes. In truth she was no longer afraid of flying, death makes things so much easier to understand and besides she was sitting here with the closest thing to family she would ever have and nothing was going to bring her down from that.

They arrived it seemed in the nick of time. Azazel had managed to hijack the carrier that was crossing the embargo line and just before it crossed Charles crashed into one of the senior officials aboard a Russian vessel and forced him to detonate the offending ship. This had of course lead to a minute celebration on all sides until Erik called out that Shaw was nearby. Sean stood and moved with confidence to the opening cargo hatch. The wind roared in everyone's ear as the cabin filled with rushing air. Charles and Erik debriefed Sean and he plunged into the sea below. Charles' look of absolute concentration overcame him as he focused on Sean whereabouts before calling to Erik and pointing to the sea below them. Disregarding all prior protocol Adel ran to the cargo hatch and watched as Erik lowered himself onto the wheel of the plane and stretched his hand towards the ocean. She could now feel the magnetic tug of his mutation pulling the sub to the surface but knew that she couldn't interfere this time she clutched the doorway opposite Charles and the two shared relieved glances as the tip of the sub burst through the water and was soon followed by the rest of the craft. She stared in amazement as the 20 tonne sub hauled itself out of the water and clapped her hands in joy at Erik's success. Pushing her telepathy to the limits she forced herself into Erik's mind.

_Bravo__Erik!__Bravo!_ She felt his joy and hers reach an almost euphoric state. That was until she saw the hatch of the sub open and a young man step out.

"Everyone strap yourselves down!" She screamed and watched as their team scrambled to their seats.

"Come one Charles, Erik! You…" She never got to finish. The young man began to manipulate the air around him and soon there was a typhoon heading their way. It hit the plane with all the force of a speeding coal train and threw them in dizzying circles. Erik had finally let the sub go and had used his metal magnetism to hold Charles to the wall as the plane crashed to the ground. Unfortunately he missed Adele and she had but moments to fling herself out of the plane to avoid being thrown around like a rag doll and most certainly killed. Slamming her eyes shut she waited for the bone breaking crash as she tore towards the ground but it never came. Opening her eyes she gasped in amazement as she fond herself suspended in the air just metres from the ground. Then she fell and hit the sand with a lung bruising smack. Winded and dazed for a few moments she slowly lifted herself up before noticing the plane some fifty metres away.

"Charles! Raven!" She screamed and tore towards it. There was a hole in the side and she ran to it just as another person ran out it was Charles and for a moment they stared at each other in shock, neither daring to believe that they were both alive. Adele launched herself at Charles and he gathered her to him in a tight embrace, smoothing her now fly-away hair and mumbling complete nonsense in her ear. She was crying she realised with a start and pulled back to stare at his face in pure joy.

"You're all okay! I thought… I thought you were all…" She couldn't finish as Raven stepped from the wreckage and Adele threw herself on her friend. The two of them smiled.

"Looks like we have company." She said as Azazel, Angel and Riptide appeared on the sand before them.

"I've got Angel." Sean yelled, still course from her betrayal of Darwin. Hank and Alex launched themselves at Azazel and Riptide which left Raven, Moira and Adele to try and fix the plane and Charles and Erik to track down Shaw. For the next hour they were all busy. Charles' telepathy was going haywire and due to her sensitivity to such mutations Adele was aware of the whole situation with Shaw long before Erik reappeared with their rival. She and Moira spent the best part of the hour trying to reconnect with the American Navy who simply stood and watched the scenes unfolding around them in disbelief. In the distance she could hear Raven recounting Sean, Hank and Alex's individual fights and her running commentary was actually quite hilarious despite the situation.

"Oh and another smack in the face for Azazel from our own Hank McCoy and Alex gets an acid spit to the chest which can't be good for his equipment… I was right he's now blasting a Russian ship to pieces. Oh wait Sean's there. Oh crap I'm going to shoot that bitch if those boys don't make it!" Raven yelled and Moira and Adele actually chuckled as they tried every possible connection on the circuit board in front of them.

"Oh this is hopeless, the ship's far to damaged!" Adele sighed as she tried for the up tenth time to call in assistance from the Americans. Charles ran inside hand pressed to his temple and Adele whimpered as the image of Shaw frozen to the spot filled her mind.

_The walls were a half glittered mirror of broken glass and pipe work. In the centre Shaw/Smitte stood frozen to the spot while Erik walked to stand in front of him. Glass littered to floor at their feet and she knew that was how the two telepaths cold see inside. _

"_I'm giving you a chance." Erik said and Adele recognized that voice. It was one of pure hatred and sadistic delight. _

"_I'm going to count to three and move the coin. One…" He began and an old German coin lifted itself from the palm of his hand. Adele and Charles both yelled at him to stop but he had placed some sort of reflective device/helmet atop his head that prevented even Charles from getting inside. _

"_Two…" Erik continued and he coin flew steadily through the air towards Shaw's frozen body. Adele could feel his terror at the sight of this coin and knew that this was obviously not going to end well for anyone. _

"_Three." Erik said with finality and the coin pushed through the skin of Shaw's forehead, penetrated his skull and slid through the inner workings of his cranium to ext on the other side. Adel felt the moment when he died and in the distance heard someone screaming in agony. It sounded like Charles and with a shuddering start pulled herself away from the morbid scene to the present. _

The two of them collapsed to the floor, Charles clutching his head and moaning and Adele with the sickened feeling that everything around her was about to fall apart.

"Everybody out.' She commanded and helped Charles to his feet as the four of them made their way outside and into the sun. The sub was pinned against palm trees fifty metres away. A Christ-like figure exited the side of the marine craft, hovered for a few moments before plummeting to the ground with a sickening thud. Erik then hovered before them, that strange helmet still on his head and his eyes glittering with a savage joy at finally completing his mission of vengeance.

"Erik!" She called out and he gently lowered himself to the ground. He walked towards them steadily, not at all looking like a man who had just moments before killed another in cold blood.

"Brothers," He said and the beach fell silent. The X-men had returned as well as Azazel, Angel and Riptide. They all gazed at Shaw's dead body before fixing Erik with the utmost attention.

"We are the future but not in the way of his plans. Brother's we hold the key to humanity's evolution. We are not the enemy…" He said and pointed out to the awaiting battleships.

"They are. DO you think they are going to sit around and wait to die like lambs to slaughter? No, already they feel our presence and at any moment they will arrive to the same conclusion and try to kill us all." He said and Charles called out.

"Your wrong Erik, we can be the better men." H said and Erik smirked at his best friend.

"Charles we already are the better men." He looked over at Adele and to her gloved wrists.

"Adele, you have felt their bite already just as I have. Go on tell him that I'm lying!" He demanded and felt everyone's eyes land on her.

"You promised Erik!" She hurled at him and he, to his credit, flinched.

"What he says is true." She said and Charles began to protest.

"Charles for once in your life actually listen, I hadn't finished. It's true that humans are not going to sit around and wait to die, they will fight but don't forget Erik… we can fight back. We do not have to be the ones who start this war." She begged and watched as the faces around her struggled to comprehend the severity of this conversation. Suddenly a loud thundering sound reached there ears and they all turned towards the sea to see that both American and Russian vessels had fired they entire arsenal of weaponry at the beach. A rain of missiles and rockets were heading straight for them and they watched in horror as they approached. Erik smirked and simply stepped forward, halting the entire legion of missiles in their tracks.

"Erik please, be the better man." Charles whispered and Adele's heart squeezed as the missiles all turned on their axis and faced back the way they'd come. Erik began to force them back towards the naval ships just as Charles lunged for him and the two toppled onto the sand. Adele screamed as Erik slammed his fists repetitively into Charles face and stomach before redirecting the missiles back on course. Charles dove at his friend yet again and more missiles fell from the sky as Erik attention was once again taken from them. Charles stood and staggered away to catch his breathe and, almost in slow motion, Adele watched as Moira stood and pointed her gun at Erik.

"No!" She screamed and watched as the bullets ricocheted off Erik and fly off in multiple directions. Adele broke into a run just as one of the bullets rounded behind Erik and slammed into Charles' back.

"Charles!" The scream was a broken, crawling thing that sent chills up the spines of everyone on that beach. The watched as he fell to the sand and a split second later was clutched to Adele's chest as se sobbed. Erik was beside them in a flash and pulled the bullet from Charles back, but it was already too late.

_Elle,__it__'__s__going__to__be__alright._His calm clear voice told her even when the both of them new it wasn't, not ever.

**It's not Charles, I'll fix this… I… I promise I'll fix this.**

_Elle, stop please. _

She sobbed and brought herself back to the present. Moira was choking on the ground, her dog tags being drawn into a tight noose as Erik's rage spiraled out of him in a blinding wave.

"You did this" He yelled and Charles laid a hand on is friend's shoulder.

"No she didn't Erik, you did." He said and finality of his words sunk through. He let everyone go and Raven was at Charles side in an instant. She and Adele were both in tears as they clung to him. Erik looked wretched as he knelt beside his injured friend.

"But we both want the same thing." He muttered and Charles shook his head sadly.

'No, no we don't." He said and Erik stood with a frown. He glanced towards the ships and Adele watched as a new vengeance swept through him. No matter what, he was not going let anyone but humans take the blame for what had happened this day. She placed a chaste kiss to Charles forehead and stood. He hand clutched at hers tightly and he refused to let her go.

_Please__Elle,__don__'__t__leave__me._He begged and she immediately stopped.

**I'm not going anywhere Charles but home with you. I need to say goodbye to Erik. **

_Say__goodbye__for__the__both__of__us._She nodded and he let her go to stand up.

"Go with him." She heard him whisper to Raven and heard both her own and Raven's gasp of surprise.

"You promised you'd never read my mind." His sister said.

"You never gave me a reason until now." He answered and the two girls moved towards Erik. Raven stood behind him and Adele walked till she stood before him. The two stared at each other for a long time before she threw her arms around him. He clutched her to him tightly and Adele felt the tears begin to fall again.

"It doesn't have to be like this." She whispered and Erik chuckled as they broke apart.

"You and I both know nothing was ever going to be the same after this. Take care of him and think of us every now and again." He said and she nodded.

"_Do__widzenia__my__friend_." She said and he looked startled at her knowledge of his birth tongue.

"_Do__widzenia__Adel_e."He answered and the embraced for the last time. She turned to Raven and the two women clung to each other for the longest of times. Both were sobbing and Adele stroked Raven's blue cheek softly.

"You are so beautiful Rae, I will miss you so much. Don't forget me." She said and Raven laughed.

"Like I could ever forget you Del, take care of Charles… I have a feeling Moira won't be around much longer anyway… and don't forget…" She lowered her voice. So only Adele could hear.

"The two of you were always blind to each other's feelings, don't be afraid to embrace what's already there." She said and stepped back behind her own love. After announcing his intentions to the beach Adele watched as Erik and his new group of mutants left in a puff of red. She ran back to where Charles lay and his hand had already found hers before she was comfortable on the sand. His head was cradled in her lap now and she glanced over to see Moira staring at them with a heartbroken look on her face. She ducked her head to convince herself she hadn't seen it and focused on Charles pain filled eyes.

"My legs." He muttered and Adele looked down to see that his legs were completely motionless.

"I can't feel my legs." He whispered and tears filled her eyes again and she leant forwards to smooth the chocolate strands away from his face.

"It's going to be okay Charles, we'll get you home." She said as Hank approached.

"Hank take him, he can't stand anymore." She said and watched the horror appear on everyone's faces. Hank grunted and lifted Charles into his arms.

"Where do we go?" He asked and she indicated to the crashed plane.

"I'll fly it." She said and they looked at her as though she were mad. She brushed the sand off her clothes and stood, hauling Moira to her feet and marching across the beach towards the wreck. No one argued and soon everyone was inside, strapped to what little safety harness was left.

"Hank, get in the cockpit and guide me. I can only lift this thing I have no idea how to get it back to America." She said and Hank nodded. Setting Charles down in a row of seats he moved to the cockpit and turned the engines on.

"Charles, I need your hand please." She said and her right hand was immediately seized within his. Closing her eyes she focused as hard as she could on the plane. Her knees began to shake and sweat poured from her brow as the creaking hunk of metal lifted itself from the sand and floated jerkily into the air.

"Engines Hank!" He called and felt the weight of the ship ease the slightest bit as it was projected forwards by the minimal push of the faulting engines. She squeezed the life out of Charles' hand but he didn't complain once the entire trip. Through his hand she found the strength to keep going. His voice inside and ouside her mind kept her focused on the job and when she felt as though she couldn't have carried it any further he leant her some of his own incredible power and she was able to just make it. Occasionally the strain would get to her and she would have to land the aircraft on a tiny island and recuperate. At this point everyone would rush to fetch her water or shelter her from the sun. Adele felt the moment where her mind disconnected from her body and she became almost automatic in her actions. She lifted the ship and carried it forward, set it down and rested for half an hour to begin the process again. She didn't know how long she did it for but when they finally reached Westchester Adele knew her body was on the verge of collapse. She crashed the ship into the back lawns, made sure everyone was alright before collapsing into pitch black nothing.

Birds. That was the first thing she heard when she awoke. She sat up and immediate felt swamped by a dizzying sensation that almost pushed her back into unconsciousness. She lay back and the memories come rushing back.

"Mother fucker!" She whispered hoarsely and gripped her head tightly. Every muscle in her body ached and her head felt like it weighed at least half a tonne. Cautiously she pushed the blue covers back, slowly eased her legs over the side of the bed and hauled herself (with the help of the headboard) to her feet. With great pain she walked to her wardrobe, slipped on the dressing gown inside and stumbled to the door of her room. She was surprised and hurt that yet again no one was there when she awoke but pushed through the pain to maneuver the stairs.

_One__foot__in__front__of__the__other._ She reminded herself as she walked.

_Just one foot in front of the other._

The back door was open and the sunlight streamed through the doorway, lighting the entire corridor in a summer glow. She walked outside and leant against the railing. Below her, seated in a chair with his nose buried like always in a book was the one man she needed to see right at that moment. His wavy brown hair fell around his face as he flicked another page; it seemed he was completely unaware of her arrival. Slowly, easing her abused body down the last few marble stares she walked towards him, mindful of the pebbled ground on her slippered feet and the fact that she was dressed in little more that a dressing gown. Finally she stood behind him and cleared her throat. He jumped and turned in the chair to face her. His handsome face split into a joyous smile so genuine she began to cry again. His gently blue eyes were shining and he spread his arms wide. With a sob she threw herself into his arms, wrapping her own around his strong but slim upper body and seating herself gently upon his lap. He held her as though she were the most precious of all possessions, the book fell to the floor with a thud and his hands explored every inch of her back, shoulders and face as if to make sure that she was in fact there.

"Oh Charles, oh Charles…" Sh sobbed and he shushed her, both simply content to sit in the sun and enjoy the feeling of being in each others arms. She rested her face against his chest and his chin came down to rest of the top her head, both sighed deeply and she titled her face upwards to look at him.

"Charles?" She asked and he nodded.

"Where's Moira?" She asked and he sighed.

"I had to send her away, it was too dangerous for her to be around us anymore and besides… it was getting complicated." He said finally and she felt her heart lightened considerably. They were silent again.

"Charles?" She said and felt like an annoying child.

"Yes Elle." He said gently and she looked up. He looked down at her and their faces were mere inches apart. Making up her mind that it was now or never she threw caution to the wind and in a quick movement force her lips upwards until the collided softly with his own.

** Do widzenia= Good bye. YAYYYYYYYYYY! Finally I can get onto the good stuff. Ha ha bit of a cliffy how is Charles going to react to the kiss, will he respond, draw back, try to run away? We'll see. Anyway thanks for reading my fic guys I hope you've enjoyed reading it almost as much as I've enjoyed writing it. More to come (possible lemons) just to warn in case of kiddies reading this. **


	8. Especially in the Morning

**Eight**

They were both stiff when she pulled her lips away and as she drew back Adele couldn't breathe. How could she have been such an idiot? How could she have let herself do such a stupid thing and ruin everything she had ever had with Charles? She couldn't look up into his gorgeous blue eyes and see the shame that probably filled them. If she saw that uncharacteristic disgust, it would completely destroy her. She only had one option… run. So run she did. Disentangling herself from his arms she leapt off his lap and stumbled back the way she had come.

"Elle!" He called in alarm but she couldn't look, wouldn't look. His cries fell I on deaf ears as she hurled herself up the marble garden stairs. The dressing gown she wore impeded her flight and she tripped, sprawling onto her hands and knees as she flew up the stairs. Scrambling to her feet she sprinted to the door, racing through it and slamming it behind her. She began to run through the corridors back to her room, her weak legs barely carrying her through the door before she collapsed in exhaustion. Using her feeble arms muscles she dragged herself to the bathroom, marveling to herself the feel of cool tiles against the fevered skin of her stomach, chest and thighs. Her lungs burned as though she had run a marathon and her entire body was shaking like a leaf during a storm. A stinging sensation on her legs made Adele look behind her. Looking back she could see blood on the white ceramics. Lifting the robe she found her calves and knees were covered in a fair share of scraps from her tumble on the stairs. Her vision blurred and she heaved herself into a seated position against the porcelain bath tub. Her entire body was wrought with emotion: exhaustion from her ordeal, grief at Erik and Rae's farewell, confusion for her actions and (overwhelmingly) agony at the though that she may have just destroyed everything that ever meant anything to her. Adele covered her face with her hands and sobbed long and hard until she simply had no more tears to shed. Her eyes dried, her face began to feel less puffy and she grabbed the side of the tub to haul herself up. Looking in the gilded mirror above he sink she flinched. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the porcelain tub in her anguish.

"Oh Charles I'm so sorry." She whispered hoarsely and stripped her pajamas and dressing gown off. For the first time in many months she worked up the courage to look at herself in the mirror. For a minute she gazed at her own body, her torn, abused body, and sighed heavily. Everything was too much: her skin was _too_pale, her dark hair _too_black, her eyes were _too_weird and her body… _too_ugly. The scars were all there, hard scar tissue that was even whiter than the pale skin around it, she gingerly touched each one. She remembered every session in that prison, remembered every sickening thing they had done to leave those scars and suddenly felt ashamed. Her father's voice rang back to her.

_I__have__not__raised__you__to__be__afraid._He had said and here she was hiding from everything. She strode brazenly through the bathroom door and into her room. She waltzed to her wardrobe and pulled out the only summer dress she owned. Its skirt was lime green with cream circle patterns and came to just below her knees. The bodice was a plain cream and had a square neckline with slim sleeves that came to just below her elbows. Pulling that on and running a brush through her dark hair at top speed she walked confidently downstairs to the kitchen. She had decided to forgo shoes, this was her home too and there was no need to hide here. Loud voices could be heard as she approached the door and her courage nearly deserted her, tremulously she pushed the heavy oak door open to a scene of masculine devastation. Sean and Alex were yelling blue murder in the centre of the room, the source of their attention a flustered looking Hank who was cowering before the stove which was belching forth a torrent of smoke and the stench of burning meat. The three musketeers of trouble were all arguing over the fault of the persons involved. Smoke continued to billow around the room and the disgusting stench was getting steadily worse but Adele was in such a desperate need for a drink so quietly, using her telekinesis opened the tea cupboard and prepared her cup of tea. She had already sat down with said cup of tea before any of them notice her arrival in the kitchen. Well technically it was the arrival of Charles that led to her discovery but really her mood was so unusual at this point it wouldn't have mattered if Shaw had walked through the door and pointed out her existence. He had arrived, seated in the obviously new wheelchair, and gazed around the room in panic. His wary blue eyes had rested on her for a few moments and she hadn't been able to hold back the laughter any longer. Cackles of near hysteria spew forth and pretty soon Charles had joined her.

"Son of a bitch!" Alex exclaimed and nearly fell in his attempt to turn and face Adele, resulting in an uncoordinated masculine pirouette. Sean and Hank had jumped about a foot and a half into the air at first then in almost perfect synchronisation blushed a deep crimson (and in Hank's case purple) at the continued laughter at their expense. Hank was the first to speak. Alex continued to swear violently under his breath and Sean looked ready to blow a

"If you're both quite done, why don't you actually help us?" He demanded roughly causing Adele to sigh and stand up. She moved to the stove and carefully, fighting the urge to gag violently, moved the smoking pot to the sink where she ran water over it quickly and set about actually creating an edible breakfast for her boys. Toast, eggs and coffee were on the menu that afternoon and if you didn't like it then that was your problem to fix. Adele seated herself beside Charles and Hank, glad to be home and laughing over something as normal as burning lunch. Her eye caught suddenly on the wheelchair and she suddenly lost all her gaiety. She bit her lip and took a careful sip of her tea, hands clasping the delicate china as though it were a life line. A large, slim hand covered hers and she looked up to see Charles staring at her. She ducked her head quickly but his voice entered her mind before she even had a chance.

_Elle,__please__don__'__t__hide__from__me__anymore._His voice sounded so heartbroken she stopped trying to shield herself from him.

**I'm sorry about before… must have still been in shock or something.**

_That's what I wanted to talk about…_

**Look let's just drop this Charles I… I can't do this right now.**

_Okay later then, when we go for drinks. _

**You****'****re****still****up****for****it!**At this point she had given up all hope of him ever wanting to be around her again.

_Elle I always have time to take a beautiful woman such as yourself out to drink. _

**I was afraid I'd pushed you away.**

_Never Elle, I love you too much for that. _

**Oh.** Her brain was on fire.

_Nice dress by the way. Come to think of it… this is the first time I've seen you in a dress since my birthday._

**Just don't look at the arms.**

_Why would…?_

"Hey Del!" A voice called out from far away and Adele forced herself away from the awkward conversation in her head to fix Alex with her entire concentration.

"Charles said you studied English Literature while you were away, ready for new pupils?" He asked and her eyes widened in shock. Obviously she had missed a memo about something and was now abut to pay the price for it.

"What!" She whispered and Hank took over explaining, seeing her obvious confusion.

"Xavier mansion in going to be turned into a school, for young mutants. It was Charles idea that anyone with any kind of learning already should be a viable teacher when this place gets up and running. We were hoping that seeing as you had your degree you'd be up for a job…" He trailed off at her continued silence. Everyone was now staring at her in anticipation. Adele remained silent for a few more seconds before looking up at them with her best poker face on.

"I assume you'd be a science teacher of some kind?" She asked Hank and he nodded.

"Quite possibly mathematics too." He said proudly and she smiled a little. She turned to Charles with a calculated look.

"Well, well, well Professor X, Physics seems to be your forte wouldn't you agree?" She asked and he nodded warily, aware that she could start sending people flying across the room at any given moment. She nodded slowly as though digesting everything. Then she smiled brightly and plated a chaste kiss to his cheek.

"I think it's a brilliant idea, when do we start?" She asked and the room exploded with cheers. She laughed and settled down to make plans for the school.

"There's no problem with space, rooms, funds or teaching staff. We have that in sustainable supply. My only worry is how we are going to find these kids. Cerebro would have helped but it was destroyed when Shaw attacked the CIA." Adele said and Hank seemed to smile beneath his fur.

"You didn't." She said and he grinned bashfully.

"Cheeky sod." She said and ruffled his head playfully.

"Where is it?" She asked and Charles indicated for her to follow. The four of them stood and moved to the door, following Charles as he led the through the enormous house. Along the way Adele began making calculations and ideas began to spread like wildfire through her brain. Recreation rooms, class rooms, dormitories, bathrooms, dining rooms and other knickknacks began to take shape in her head as they walked and by the time they reached the basement the group had only one problem left to solve. Using a special code to open the sliding doors Hank ushered her inside a large, subterranean room which housed a familiar looking machine that she recognized as Cerebro. She smiled at Charles and moved over to it.

"It's not quite finished but it should only take a few days." Hank said and he smiled.

"We can have it running next week and the school could be going in less than a month… what do you think?" Charles asked her quietly. Adele looked at him and saw his eyes were shining, not with tears but with passion. She hadn't seen him work himself into a fit this large since they were much younger and she knew then that no matter how long it took to get this school going she would be there every step of the way to help him do it.

"It's perfect." She said simply and he smiled.

She was standing next to his chair and cautiously extended her hand towards his. Charles was overjoyed that she had tried and eagerly clasped her hand in his. He hoped it showed her he did not hate her, that he loved her more tan he could possibly express. He was furious with himself for letting her run away earlier and vowed that tonight things would change. He traced the back of her hand gently, running his fingers over her smooth pale skin. He loved her skin, it was so soft and perfect… what the heck was that! He paused in his wanderings at the feel of raise tissue on her wrist. She flinched slightly at the touch and tried to move her hand away but he refused to let her go. Carefully he traced the white, ribbonesque scar that circled her wrist. Now, he could clearly see the scars on her wrists, although hidden slightly by a few bracelets up close it was impossible to miss the white scar tissue. His eyes widened in shock at this discovery. She had been held, imprisoned and had not told him. Through her minimal telepathy he sensed hurt, both for her and the way she had hidden it from him. Charles felt guilty for the way he had been pressuring her to talk to him; Erik had understood the need for privacy, had tried to show him... Erik! Erik had known before he did, did that mean she had liked Erik more than him…? He shook the thought away. Erik was with Raven, they were both gone and it was unlikely that they would ever meet again. Brining himself back from his thoughts he felt Adele, his Elle squeeze his hand gently as she turned to walk out with the others. She grasped the back of his chair and began to push him. He never felt comfortable when he was pushed by someone else, it made him feel weak or somehow less, however with Adele pushing him he felt strangely complete. One of her hands was on his shoulder and the other on the chair as she pushed him along behind the others until they were back upstairs into the main part of the house.

"We'll need to renovate a little before this place is suitable for children." Adele was saying and he listened to her spout off about safety standards and the legal implications for setting up a boarding school. Her under-the-table legal lessons had proved valuable after all, she was a treasure trove of knowledge in terms of duty of care, medical insurance, insurance and liability for minors and a whole other tangent on tort laws on property, financial management ad the works. He was obviously the idea but she was definitely the brains behind this operation. Hank, Alex and Sean went off to the games room, yelling something about a game of pool. Adele had declined saying she wanted to look up something in the library so the two had set off towards possibly their favourite place in the entire manor. Here they could pretend that nothing had changed, that they were still two young adults laughing over everything and nothing.

"Torts, tort, torts, where doth thee lie?" Adele muttered to herself as she skimmed the law section of the library. Charles laughed and hauled himself into one of the arms chairs. He watched as Elle pulled books from the shelves and fought to suppress the laughter at the small legion of books floating along behind her as she waltzed through the aisles. She eventually returned and the lowered the six or so books down onto the table before her. Her face screwed into a comical expression of trepidation and Charles extended one of his hands.

"I'll read some." He said and she stuck her tongue out at him. For the next few hours they simply sat and read thy chosen books; her tort law scriptures and he a good Mark Twain classic. After about three hours of thorough study he heard Elle gasp dramatically and fling the offending tome back onto the table before her. She relaxed against her armchair and closed her eyes.

"Shit! I forgot how dry these things can be. It's like Cambridge all over again." She said and he scoffed. She cracked an eyelid and fixed him with a piercing glare.

"Cambridge? Nothing compares to Oxford my dear." He teased and she frowned at him playfully. He could see a healthy attack coming.

"Oh really Professor that is hardly sporting behaviour for a gentleman, we all know that you only joined that team because Cambridge was simply too hard." She jabbed and he hissed, sitting up and putting his own book down.

"That one was a little close to the personal Elle, although bearing in mind you probably can't help it… Cambridge does bring out the worst in all people." He fired back and she gasped.

"Stuffy old Professor!" She called.

"Ignorant young fool!" He said with a feigned yawn.

"Jerk! I'm older than you by a month damn it" She yelled and he grinned. It was true but now he had her.

"Yes Madam." He said. She screamed in frustration and launched herself at him. He had a split second to prepare before she struck and the two began to wrestle playfully on the couch. He couldn't move his legs so he was automatically at a disadvantage but he managed to ward off most of her feigned blows and land a few prods here and there. She nearly got the upper hand, twisting and writhing like an eel, until the two fell off the couch with a muffled bump. Stunned they lay there, Adele on his chest and her legs curled through his even though he couldn't feel much beyond their weight and warmth. She was breathing deeply and he chuckled. She slapped him on the arm and rested her head on his chest. He was aware of the similar position they were in from that of the morning. For some reason it didn't seem to bother either, although both could tell each other's thoughts had immediately flown to earlier events.

"Charles I…" She began but he cut her off.

"No Elle, don't ruin this." He said and she shut up. She smiled and relaxed against him. He looked over at the clock on the wall and realised it was closing in on five o'clock. He hauled himself up and pulled her with him.

"You ready for dinner?" He asked and she looked down at the dress she was wearing. She bit her lip then smiled in an 'oh-to-hell-with-it' way.

"Just let me get some shoes and I'll be right back." She said and he nodded. He watched as she walked out of the room, mentally berating himself when he seemed to be focusing a little too much on the backside of her dress. Getting into the chair he wheeled himself out of the library and into his room, taking a moment to change his jacket and straighten his hair a little. He returned to the hallway to find her waiting for him. He grinned at her change. She still had her green dress on but she had pulled on a pair of heeled cream shoes and piled her hair into a neat bun. A ruby red mouth and lightly smoked eyes sent him a little crazy and he had to focus his inner attention on the different proteins formed by DNA bases to recollect himself. She also had a green cardigan over one arms.

"See, can't pass the opportunity my beautiful lady." He said.

"Bullshit, I look horrid." She said and he frowned.

"I really wish you'd lay off the swearing, it doesn't suit the pretty mouth it comes from." He said and she sighed.

"I'll lay off the swearing… for now." She said and he shook his head bemusedly.

"Hank take care of the boys… only call if they've burned the mansion down." Charles called over his shoulder as he and Elle moved out of the front door and down to the car. Adele drove and they pulled up outside a local pub not too far from the house. Once inside they were shown to a table near the front window and waited while one of the waitresses went to fetch their drinks.

"I'm so sorry." Charles said immediately and Adele looked across the table in shock, her beautiful violet eyes filled with confusion.

"For what?" She asked and he sighed.

"I've been pressuring you the whole time to talk to me but what I really should have been doing is listening. You were already hurting and I was making it worse… Elle I'm sorry." He said and watched in horror as her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh Charles no, I was being a bitc… a coward. I was keeping things from you and Rae because I was scared of being hurt again. Scared of my own family… no Charles I'm sorry. I scared you half to death with my overdose and I nearly lost you altogether this morning with that stupid kiss… I won't ever do anything to drive you away again, I promise." She said and he reached over the table to grasp her hand. The waitress returned and handed them their drinks. Charles lifted his drink and she raised her own.

"To friends who can't be here to share his groovy night with us." He said with his trademark smirk. Adele smiled and downed the whiskey, coughing slightly at the burn. Charles down his own and shook his head slightly to clear it as the liquid reached his stomach.

"I think I'll have another one of those, what about you?" He asked and she grinned.

"Hell yeah!" He said and he raised his hand to the waitress.

Adele was floating. They had a few more rounds of whiskey before slowing down a little. Neither wanted to have to leave early so they ordered some food and a jug of water. There was a light buzz in her head and she grinned a lot more than usual as she gazed around the pub. At six o'clock the place was lively , people were sitting down for after work drinks and a spot of dinner. She and the two waitresses were the only women in the place and she felt a little uneasy. Charles must have sensed this because there was a hand laid casually on his temple that seemed to ward off all men in the general facility.

"Where were you?" Charles asked and she jumped. She turned to face him and struggled with the urge to smooth the stray strand of hair out of his eyes. Sighing she took a quick sip of water before answering.

"I was in Europe most of the time, England, France… Poland and a few other places but mostly England." She said and he frowned.

"Then how come you never came to see me? I was in Oxford the whole time." He demanded and she bit her lip. Shaking her wrists slightly she looked at him blankly.

"I couldn't." Se said simply and he flinched. She took another sip

"I wanted to come home, that's all I wanted but I didn't want to face what could have been there waiting for me." She said.

"What d you mean?" He asked and she shrugged.

"No Elle, don't you dare do that. What kept you away?" He asked and she fought back the waves of anguish that washed over her.

"The night I left, it was your birthday." She said and he nodded.

"I remember, you didn't even say goodbye." He said and the hand enclosing hers squeezed ever so gently. She smiled slightly.

"You had disappeared and I went to find you, I found you… and her." She said softly and watched his face. There was a moment of totally silence and his face seemed to collapse in on itself. His eyes stared up at her in genuine sorrow and guilt.

"You saw… that." He said and she closed her eyes in self pitying remembrance.

"Yes, I saw the two of you together and something snapped. I left without saying goodbye to anyone and I couldn't go back… to that." She said and he sighed.

"Weeks turned into months and months into years, eventually I convinced myself you had moved on… until I head of a brilliant young American man who was graduating from Oxford on genetics and physics courses. I thought it couldn't possibly be you but I decided to check it out and viola that's when we met again." She said and he shook his head bemusedly.

"Were you in England at anytime I was?" He asked and she nodded.

"I believe so… towards the end I was simply kidding myself into thinking it was someone else." She said and he nodded. The food was cleared and another round of drinks purchased.

"What about you and Moira then?" Adele asked after a few sips of her drink.

"Moira was… I honestly don't know. I was like we had a connection but only when you were not there, the moment you entered the room we were simply friends." He said and she frowned.

"I'm sorry. You seemed to work well together." She said stiffly, inwardly cheering. He grinned; obviously the inward cheer was louder than she had thought. A few silent sips and another round. Her head was certainly feeling lighter with every sip.

"How much have we drunk?" She asked and he smiled.

"I don't know but I doubt it will do us much good to try and figure it out. Let's head home, open my father's old liquor cabinet and see what we find in there." He said and she nodded.

"Probably best, I mightn't be able to dive if I have another here." He said so it was agreed. They paid and left.

Arriving at the manor at around nine o'clock was exciting because Adele had in fact drunk way too much and halfway home decided that walking was the safer option. The two had proceeded to walk the rest of the way back to the mansion. The liquor cabinet in a secluded room near the gardens had provided a bottle of Scotch and a vodka that Adele refused to touch.

"One too many hangovers from that bottle there has taught me never to mix it with a whiskey… it does not look pleasant when you see them again." She said and Charles had rolled his eyes much to her disgust. Seated on the couch in the front room Adele rested her head on Charles' chest, listening to the steady rhythm beneath her cheek.

"All the time I was locked up, you kept my going." She whispered and Charles pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"No!" She said and he looked shocked. She sat up, swaying drunkenly. He stretched out a hand to steady her. They were seated on the floor with a blanket, bottle of Scotch and no light apart from the moon through the windows. The house was silent and they relished their time only together. Back to the present Charles watched Adele's frustration in confusion.

"I don't want a kiss there, I want one here." She said and pointed to her lips. She missed and hit her nose.

"Alright." Charles said and leaned forwards to press one on the tip of her nose. She wrinkled it and giggled.

"Here." She said and pointed to her cheek. Charles grinned and kissed her on the cheek. He needed no more invitation. As her beautiful violet eyes fluttered close he pressed his lips to the silky lids. She sighed and nuzzled into his neck, sending him waves upon waves of pleasure. He pressed more kisses around her face, on her eyes, nose, cheeks, the tips of her ears but never in the one spot both wanted so badly.

"Damn it Charles kiss me." She said. He smiled and obeyed. Slowly he pushed her back until they were side by side on the floor. He leaned across the small space and tentatively placed his throbbing lips to hers. She moaned softly and wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him closer to her until their bodies pressed together. His mind was completely blown. Her moans were music and her body felt amazing as he pressed against her, well as much of his body as he could move, and cradled her against his chest. The kisses began to heat up.

"Charles." She moaned and he stopped. Her eyes were shining with tears.

"I want this, so bad but I don't want us to regret this so please, if we are going to do this I have to know… will you still love me in the morning?" She asked and he grasped her face in his hands.

_I love you Elle, I will always love you. _

**Even in the morning?**

_Especially in the morning… because I'll wake next to you. _

**Kiss me. **

**WOW WOW WOW! Next chapter will be up soon, lemons for sure but fluffy. This series is so much fun and I look forward to any critics you guys have. Review!**


	9. Lemonade

**Nine**

**Alright people here goes nothing, you've all been so patient and I thank you all for reviewing my story. I'm not quite done, still debating whether or not to continue this story, however I decided to throw you all a bone a have a lovely old lemon (there was a reason we signed up for this with a rating of M). Anyway please enjoy…**

Charles' hands were gentle as they skimmed over her body. He took his time simply exploring her, like the scholar he was, and although completely drunk didn't seem all that interested in just shagging the hell out of her. She strained against him and his lips came down on hers once more, marking them, claiming her entirely. Adele's hands were not still either; they were clenched in the thick strands of his brown hair, pulling him as close to her as she could. His hands were like fire as they moved over her hips, her stomach and her arms but she felt cheated, he wasn't touching her _there_. Pulling away from his searing kiss she moaned at him.

"Touch me." She whimpered and he drew breath shakily. His hands trembled as they came to rest at the hem of her dress.

"I am." He said and she shook her head.

"Wait." She commanded and pushed him back slightly. Making sure he was watching she moved her hands behind herself and slowly zipped the dress down. His eyes followed her hands and widened a little as her torso came into view, partly revealed at the dress folded in like a wilting rose. They were seated on the floor so she raised her hips and slid her dress of completely in a surprisingly successful movement, leaving her only clad in her panties and bra.

"Now touch me properly Charles. " She demanded and he couldn't say no. Slowly his hands came to rest reverently upon her hips, sliding up over her stomach to hover just below the swell of her breasts. She moaned quietly and pressed herself forwards, pressing her lips against his once more. Finally his hands cupped her breasts and a loud moan escaped her this time. His fingers traced the lace of her bra, teasing the smooth flesh beneath and drawing more loud moans from her lips.

"Charles…" Adele sighed and he shifted them to lie together, her slightly beneath him. Suddenly he stopped and groan of frustration left him. His blue eyes filled with pain and she immediately stopped.

"What's wrong?" She asked and he cursed angrily.

"I… I can't." He said and her heart dropped like a ten stone weight.

"What?" She breathed and he flinched.

"It is not that I do not want to Elle, in fact I want to so badly but… I quite literally can't." He said, the adrenalin had sobered him slightly and the anguish was plain to see. His gaze was on his legs which lay motionless between them and Adele immediately understood.

"Charles, that doesn't matter." She said and he looked up at her.

"How can it not matter Elle? How on earth can it not matter? He demanded and she moved closer to press her lips to his gently.

"Because I can do this…" She said and slowly began to slid her hands up his shirt, untying his neat tie and throwing it away over her shoulder with a flourish.

"Elle what are you…" He began and she shushed him with a finger to his lips.

"Don't speak. Just feel." She said and went back to undressing him. Slowly his shirt was unbuttoned and thrown away, followed by belt, shoes and pants. Finally the both of them were in their underwear. She smiled and kissed him fiercely. He responded just a ferociously, drawing small gasps as his hands found her breasts once more. Her own hands slips to his hips and traced the material covering him. She hooked it and gently tugged it down his legs, all the while maneuvering them both till she sat atop his hips. She could feel him through the thin cotton of her panties and she was sure he could feel the answering wetness that soaked them. Both were grinning stupidly at each other. Carefully she unhooked her bra, letting the straps slid down her arms and tossing the flimsy material away. She blushed as her breasts were exposed fully to him, suddenly unsure she went to cross her arms. He stopped her with lightening quick movements.

"Don't you ever hide from me Elle, I love you… every part of you. You are beautiful." He murmured.

"You're drunk." She whispered and he smiled.

"Not too drunk that I don't know when the most gorgeous creature in the world is currently straddling me… without her bra." He said and the blush fortified itself to her face. A hand came up and stroked her cheek softly. He leaned up and forced her lips to his gently, caressing her face, hair and drawing her into a strong embrace.

"I won't ever laugh at you Elle, you are giving me so much joy and I love you so much." He said softly and she felt tears well up in her eyes. Drawing away with a stronger smile she prepared herself. She removed her underwear quickly, hovering over Charles hips as they finally lay bare to each other. Steeling herself for the next bit she plastered a smile to her face and pressed in for a kiss. His hands ravaged her body, drawing small moans, making her shiver and building a fire deep within her core. Slowly she lowered herself onto him until she was in to the hilt. She gasped as his member broke through her maidenhood and Charles immediately sat up. It hurt a lot and she felt a single tear leak from her right eye.

"Oh Elle, I'm sorry…" He said and drew her to him as the pain passed. As it ebbed away a new sensation filled her, one of pleasure so intense she began to move. She pulled away slightly then lowered. The feeling grew, her muscles began to tightened. Charles moaned, his head flying back and allowing her to sit up. The new angle caught her by surprise and she moaned loudly. She pulled away and lowered, repeating the movement as the fire grew in her core. The please was rolling off them both in waves, Charles was holding her hips, guiding her into a steadily hastening rhythm as the two plunged together.

"Elle…' He moaned and she gasped. Titling her hips slightly she felt his plunge deep within her and her eyes flew wide and she screamed.

"Oh!" She moaned and he answered her with his own cries. They moved together, her hips and his hands, guiding each other closer and closer. Adele could feel herself drawing closer to her peak, the fire in her core was almost snapping within her. All her muscles felt as though they were tight threads drawn to breaking point.

"Charles I… I think…" She started and he moaned. His hands were going haywire over her body now, teasing her breasts and moving around her hips, thighs and buttocks.

"Nearly there, Elle." He murmured and she titled herself one last time… with a violent snap she came. For the first time in a very long time her mind went completely blank. Writhing atop him with orgasmic pleasure she screamed with all the pent up emotion she had contained since her return. Seconds later Charles came and white heat filled her as he broke with a loud groan. Her arms, legs and back had gone rigid as the waves upon waves of bliss rolled over her. Went she was spent she rolled of Charles with a small groan. Her body buzzed with happiness but there as an ache between her thighs that twinged when she moved. She curled herself into the crook of Charles awaiting arms. She stared up at him and saw he had an identical look of sated shock written across his face. She raised her lips and kissed him. His arms encircled her gently and through there bond she could hear him silently thanking everything.

**Elle?**

_Yes Charles?_

**Wow.**She laughed and he joined her.

_Is that all you have to say?_

**You are a goddess?**

_Nice, but there's something else. _

**I love you.**

_Close, but not quite._

**Hmm, you're actually making me think deeply after I had the greatest sex in my life?**

_Yes._

**Woman, I am astounded! How on earth do you have the energy after… that?**

_You're avoiding the question. _

**I'm not sure… what is it?**

_Well… we were rather loud…_

**True.**

_We are also not the only ones in this house… what do you think is going to be on discussion tomorrow morning?_

…

_Food for thought. I'm going to sleep now. _

**But… never mind. I love you Elle.**

_I love you too Charles, I always have._

Adele rolled over and curled closer to Charles. There was a blanket and he quickly drew it over them both, the afterglow was rapidly fading and the room was steadily growing colder. She felt him press a kiss to her head and smiled. Her whole body ached but she was so happy, tomorrow was going to be hell but right now she didn't care… she had Charles, at last.

The next morning…

"Oh, ho, ho look who finally rolled in the door." Alex's voice called as Adele and Charles entered the kitchen the next morning. Shouts of laughter echoed through the small room as Sean and Hank matched Alex's glee in tormenting their house mates. Adele winced as the noise made her headache worsen considerably. She moaned and bit her lip as a wave of nausea flowed through her gullet.

"Move!" She called and ran to the sink. Alex jumped out of the way just in time as she emptied the previous night's drinks into the white porcelain bowl. The laughter grew louder until finally she couldn't stand it. Flinging a hand behind her she felt rather than saw all three of them rise into the air and hover dangerously close to the rotating blade of the ceiling fan.

"Alright, alright we give in Del you've made your point." Sean called and she turned slowly to look up at them. Charles was grimacing, his hand to his head, but he managed to smirk up at the three suspended mutants.

"Are you going to behave or do I need to remind you how?" He asked and the three boys nodded. Slowly Adele lowered them to the ground and sat down in a chair. Her tea was soon sitting before her and she sipped it gratefully as Charles wheeled himself over to sit beside her. She grimaced at the three boys across the table and waited.

**I bet its Alex.**

_Sean._

**You're so on.**

_What's the prize?_

**Whatever the other wants?**

_Sounds good. _

**Three… two… one.**

"The next time you guys decide to have sex can you please keep it down, I have very important work to do on fixing Cerebro and the two of you screaming in the next room is not helping my concentration." Hank said after a moment's silence. Adele and Charles looked at each other as Sean and Alex crowed with hysterical laughter.

"Well who won that bet?" Adele asked and Charles rubbed his forehead.

"I have no idea." He said and she giggled slightly, before frowning and rubbing her aching temples.

"Two words: Never. Again." She said and Charles smiled bemusedly.

"I have to agree, I actually like remembering what happens to myself while I'm…" He trailed off and she whacked him lightly. Alex and Sean had gone white at the thought of them actually doing it; their juvenile brains having being focused on the situation and not the act itself. She looked over at Hank who, bless him, had stopped laughing and actually looked serious.

"Alright Hank, we'll try and keep it down." She said and he nodded. Adele shook her head and took another sip of tea. Stretching slightly she winced. Alex couldn't resist.

"Sore there Del?" He teased and she glared at him.

"Not as sore as you'll be if you don't drop it. I'm a woman with a hangover and I'm not in the mood right now." She said and he wisely shut up, although the sparkle in his eye told her this wasn't going to be the only thing she'd hear about last night.

"Hank, how's Cerebro coming along?" She asked and the furred mutant smiled at the mention of his beloved machine.

"Nearly there, should have her ready to run tomorrow at the latest." He said and she smiled.

"Excellent. I hope you've all eaten." She mused casually.

"I'm going to get to work." She announced and stood. The men all looked at her. She looked at the clock on the wall.

"We've got six hours till sundown to start renovations on this house. That means cleaning, stockpiling, safety checks on all rooms, check listing supplies and purchasing of new ones. If we want a school fit for adolescent mutants we have to get cracking… now." She finished and stared pointedly at them. Grumbling they stood and moved out into the hall.

"Except you Charles, I'm afraid this first bit is not going to be easy for you." She said and her boyfriend looked affronted.

"Cleaning, heavy lifting etc. not really something you can do right now however I do need blue prints of this house pronto or else I'm going to be in legal battles up to my eyeballs due to malpractice and negligent construction." She said and he looked troubled. Turning to the other boys, addressing them with hands on hips she looked ready for battle…

"We'll start by clearing the west wing rooms of all the furniture. Those are going to be the dormitories and recreational rooms. All desks, bookshelves and hard backed chairs are to be moved to the upper east wing for class rooms and offices. Lounge rooms can stay how they are for now as can anything that looks slightly recreational, that's at your discretion. Hank, you're in charge of fixing Cerebro. Alex, Sean you guys are in for hell I'm afraid…" She said bemusedly and laughed at their horrified faces. She saw them of before turning back to a rather upset looking Charles. She frowned and sat down.

"What's wrong?" She asked and he sighed.

"I'm not going to be of much help." He said somberly.

"I want to help build this school, how can I do that if I can even walk up a flight of stairs to clean a fucking room?" He demanded and her mouth fell open. She rarely heard him swear, it mean bad things as it went against all his English gentlemen morals. Her hand grasped his tightly on the table top.

"Get me the blue prints. I'm going to need your help in planning this school Charles. It's your baby, I'm just the surrogate." She said and he looked up at her. His blue eyes looked so lost she nearly cried.

"I just wish…" He began but she squeezed his hand tightly.

"Don't Charles, IT DOES NOT MATTER." She said pointedly and stood.

"But it does to me." He said softly and she sighed. He wheeled himself around the table and headed for the corridor. Soon they were upstairs in the library. Charles had shown her where to find the mansion's blue prints and the two of them were now hunched over one of the tables combing through them.

"We can put the courts here, there's enough room for at least that and more." Charles said and Adele smiled.

"There's a whole lawn space available for outdoor activities Charles, we can build those later. Underneath is what I'm interested in." She said and he looked surprised.

"Underneath?" He said and she grinned.

"Of course, those old bunkers your step father built… perfect for all that stuff we're not legally supposed to have." She said and he smiled.

"Much safer than Hank's lab." He said and she nodded.

"We'll need to expand these rooms up here. I don't think these are quite big enough for classes." He said and she clucked thoughtfully.

"We don't know how many students we'll have so… that's a good point." She drew lines over the papers. They were at it for a few good hours before Alex turned up.

"Del, you are a witch but we've done it. East wing's been emptied of all bedroom stuff and sent westward to join the existing stuff. Desks have been moved to the east… anything else?" He asked and she nodded. He winced.

"It's really boring actually; all I need you to do is catalogue everything." She said simply and smiled as he groaned.

"That will teach you to joke about my sex life." She called after him and even Charles managed a laugh.

"Now paint and construction materials… I think you should handle that." She said to Charles who quirked an eyebrow.

"I'm generally lost with mathematics, I'll take forever and no-one in the industry likes talking to females about construction so I'll leave it to you." She said and he groaned. They walked out of the library, Adele with the papers under her arm.

"Thanks." He said sarcastically and she smiled sardonically.

"Just remember this was your idea." She said sweetly, kissing him gently before moving off with a swing of her hips.

**I know it's short but it's mainly for the fluff factor. Next chapter school's up and running… guess whose coming to school now? **

**Review! Please, please, please. I know most people just graze over and look for other stories when they've finished but I would really appreciate anything from you guys. **

**It will only take a few seconds and it can just be one line eg. I loved it! Or worse case scenario… Please, don't ever write again. Thanks for reading though. **


	10. Recruitment Office

**Ten**

The next few weeks flew by in a dizzying whirl. Adele couldn't quite remember all that had occurred however she was sure that it had involved woodwork, plastering and painting jobs that would leave her wishing she'd never agreed to this school. Cerebro was done. Hank had completed her on schedule and after moving the delicate machine underground for protection they'd had an extra pair of hands helping them moving the hard labour along. Under Charles criticizing eyes the four other mutants had been pushed to their limits; knocking down walls, reshaping whole sections of the ancient house and having to rebuild them in just under a month. Charles had been adamant about the dead line and Adele could understand his frustration. Until they could actually begin to locate the students Charles would be living in a state of immovable depression. Feeling next to useless he had resigned himself to a slave driver and a whole other personality had evolved. The other's pretended not to see it but Adele didn't have the luxury. He was still affectionate to her, still held her hand, kissed her as much as possible and their 'conversations' were long, thought provoking and reminisce of past times. However she felt as though her oldest friend had pulled into himself, was working on a sort of autopilot that she remembered herself being on not too long ago. He was in for it when he got back, she decided. Her entire body ached with the strain of the work. The first week she'd used her telekinesis to help and the work had be relatively easy but the strain had begun to show in the second week and Charles had told her to lay off the power drain. She had argued with him then, the whole house had heard that particular one, but in the end she had agreed. With only a few paint jobs, refurbishment and a legal document declaring the house an official private education facility left to obtain and complete, Adele was beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. With each completion of a room, Charles began to return and that was a blessing in itself. It was the final week of renovation and Adele found herself up a ladder in one of the last dormitory rooms, hanging precariously over to reach a far corner of the wall with her paint brush, when Charles and Sean walked into the room. Seeing the rather dangerous situation Sean had called out to her and turning on the rickety old thing, she had lost her balance and fallen from the wooden structure. Remembering the last time she'd been in the situation she used her power to 'push' herself away from the floor, imagining herself as another object she lifted when she usually used her mutation. The fall stopped suddenly and she was suspended, parallel to the floor, about two or so metres above it. She looked up to see Sean and Charles both staring in shock.

"Yes, this recently developed." She said by way of an explanation.

"Simple physics, right? If I can lift a car, another person or anything larger than that… shouldn't I be able to lift myself?" She asked as the silence continued. Slowly, frowning in concentration she lowered herself to the ground, bringing her legs to rest before her torso. She stumbled a bit but didn't fall over.

"That would explain how you survived falling out of the plane." Charles said quietly and she smiled and nodded. He grinned and clapped is hands.

"Marvelous, simply marvelous." He said and she blushed a little. Looking around the room she smiled.

"That's it." She said and the two men looked at her. She gestured to the completed rooms.

"We've done all the hard stuff, now we just need that furniture." She said and Charles' smile grew wider, if that were even possible. The next day truck came by, dropping off beds, more living furniture and recreational pieces such as pool tables, televisions and other things. Being the most sensible looking Adele and Charles went out to check everything was there. The men nodded at Charles but when they saw Adele their eyes flew wide. Self consciously she began fiddling with pieces of her hair until Charles' hand came up and tugged at her own. He leaned up and kissed her sweetly.

"There now, what's all this worrying for?" He teased and she sighed. They watched as all the new furniture was unpacked and after paying turned around and entered the house once more.

"It's like Christmas." Charles said as they gazed at all the wrapped objects.

"Yes, I suppose that's exactly what Christmas' look like." She said and Charles flinched.

"Oh Elle, I didn't…" He began but she turned with a smile.

"None of that, remember how I used to sneak over here and spent Christmas Day with you and Rae?" She asked and he nodded. Alex and Sean entered the room.

"Yes!" Sean yelled sarcastically.

"Presents!" Alex called out.

"Now kids, I want these all unpacked and beginning moved into rooms pronto." Adele shouted as Hank walked in.

"Yes, Mum." Alex called out and she shook a finger at him mockingly.

"Don't talk back to me young man or I swear I'll box your ears." She said seriously as they all laughed. Sean, Alex and Hank began to shift all the furniture to the new elevators. Yes, over the last month the four of them, with Hank's exceptional engineering skills, had designed five elevators in the Xavier mansion; two in the entrance hall, one in the East wing and one the West wing. The fifth one went down into the basement level and was hidden from view where students couldn't 'accidentally' discover it. The things were a blessing, in little to no time all the furniture had been moved to the dormitories and recreation rooms. Interior design was left at anyone's discretion.

It was midnight by the time all of them headed to bed. Adele and Chares moved to their room and once inside Adele flung herself onto the bed with a dramatic sigh. A chuckle from the door caused her to lift her head wearily and mutter some rather unladylike phrases in that general direction.

"I am so bloody tired, you have no idea." She said as Charles hoisted himself next to her. The two of them stared at each other for a long moment.

"It's Christmas in a few weeks." Adele said with a small smile.

"My first Christmas at home in nearly five years." She pondered and he shook his head exasperatedly. He was still extremely interested in where she had been for the last four years but knew she'd tell him in her own time.

"You know what I used to love the most about Christmas?" Charles said softly and she frowned. He reached forward and played with the tendrils of dark hair spread over the covers. He loved her hair, but it was her eyes that enchanted him more. Right now the violet orbs were clouded with memories best left alone.

"No. Enlighten me." She said and he grinned.

"It was the one time of the year I could guarantee you would be here, with me." He said and brought the tips of her fingers to his lips. She sighed softly and crawled closer to him, wrapping her arms around his chest and entangling her legs in his. His head rested on top of hers and they lay like that for a while. She felt so soft and fragile, yet he knew from the unconscious hardness that left her while she was sleeping, that she was one of the strongest people he would ever meet. Her voice came out as barely a whisper.

"I needed to be here, I know my mother needed me more but I couldn't stay in that house." She said softly and he nodded.

"It's alright. You never had to tell me why… I was just glad you always came." He said and she sighed. Silence reined for a few moments. He could feel the inner debate but decided to give her privacy.

"My mother received the notice of my Papa's death on Christmas morning, I was 6 years old. All I knew was that Daddy wasn't coming home for Christmas when he promised he would. After that Christmas simply became a reminder of everything she had lost. She knew then she'd never have that little boy she always wanted." Adele murmured softly. Looking up at him she grimaced.

"She adored you Charles, you were all she ever talked about. She saw you as her son and I was simply a way for her to live in that fantasy." She said and the tears fell finally. He pressed a kiss to her black hair and felt her tremble. She smelled of paint and sunshine, the smell intoxicated him.

"Papa, he was the reason we breathed. Mother loved him with all she had and he always treated me like I was special and reminded me every day that he loved me." She said and smiled.

"He saw Rae once, as she really is, and do you know what he said?" She asked and her hand squeezed his fiercely. She must have felt Charles tense.

"He told me to take care of her always, that she would need it. That was when I knew he was a mutant too." She said and Charles' eyes flew wide. He had met General McAlister once and had found him a great man. Being very young at the time he couldn't remember his face very well but he remembered the uniform and the gentle laugh.

"He could see things. He pretended to have migraines but the things he saw he couldn't explain to others until they actually happened. He used it to protect himself and his men from attacks during the Boer war; he was about 15 at the time." She said and Charles grinned. It explained her own telekinesis more than she realised.

"In the first world war, things changed. It wasn't just bullets that were flying everywhere. There were gases, mortars and a whole new host of weaponry my Father actually couldn't defend himself from." She said and he gripped her tightly.

"I found out years ago, an old military friend in a French Brigade told me. He was there the day he died." She said softly and Charles debated inwardly.

"You don't need to go through this Elle." He said and she sighed.

"I have so many secrets Charles, many of which I should have known years ago…" She said and readjusted her shoulders.

"Their group was divided; he had a choice… save the men who were guarding a group of children by sacrificing his own battalion as canon fodder or… run like buggery till they reached the trenches. He chose the right one, he died a hero and because of it I never got to see him again." She said and Charles' heart broke within him. He held her to him as gently as he could and pressed another kiss to her hair.

"I met a woman, while I was traveling in Europe. Her name was Hanna and she had been one of the children my father saved that day… I had held so much bitterness for that day but when I met her all of it simply melted away. She said she wanted to thank me and my family for everything, she had a little boy with her… do you know what she called him? Robert, after my Papa." She said and Charles smiled.

"That's enough talking Elle, tomorrow we search for young, impressionable mutants and I'll need you in best form for that." Charles said and Adele nodded sleepily. Charles felt her entire body relax against him. She was still dressed in the old pair of overalls, paint splattered and torn from her weeks of labour. None the less she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He closed his eyes and was soon asleep.

The next day…

"Hank, are you sure this thing works properly?" Adele asked and winced slightly at the glare the young professor sent her way.

"Yes." He sad curtly and she lifted her hands in surrender.

"I'm just making sure this machine works. If it hurts him I swear to all that's holy you will die a most horrible death, be revived and live the rest of your miserable life paying penance to the queen of all bitches a.k.a Moi. Do you understand?" She asked and he nodded, looking a little pale. She smiled at Charles who was seated beneath Cerebro's helmet and he shook his head.

"Don't give me that look or I'll shave your hair off while you sleep." She said and he actually looked slightly terrified. She waited as Hank slowly flicked the switches and watched as the needle began to writhe on the paper. The co-ordinates began to appear and she scanned the paper. Three or four different sets had appeared and by the looks of the paper they had no intention of stopping. She watched in amazement as set after set of numbers appeared on the paper.

"Hank what have you done?" She asked in wonder and the blue mutant smiled.

"I improved on the original design, also as it turns out Westchester lies at the perfect spot to amplify the brain waves so really we're getting optimum results at an even greater speed than when we were at the CIA." He said and she grinned. Slowly the needle began to loss speed and finally it stopped. Charles face relaxed slightly and he removed the helmet. Wheeling towards them he looked truly happy for the first time in weeks and as she showed him the paper the smile grew wider.

"Hank, tell me you have a way." He asked and Hank smiled.

"As long as there is a will, Charles." Hank murmured and the trio left the basement and entered the lift. She pressed the down button and the doors opened to reveal the reconstructed aircraft from the CIA. Adele eyed it in distaste but followed her boys up the gangway and into the belly of the ship. A moment later Sean and Alex appeared.

"What's going on?" Alex asked as they sat down and buckled themselves in.

"Wheel up boys, we've got scouting business." Adele announced and the boys grinned.

"Finally." Sean cried and Adele smiled. She was seated next to Hank in the front and a pair of ear phones were placed over her ears. She and Hank shared identical grins. The sky appeared over them and the aircraft rose swiftly into the air.

"Charles, where are we going?" She yelled over her shoulder.

"West." He yelled and the plane turned and shot off towards the setting sun.

The girl was sitting outside, on a deck chair on the front veranda, reading a book. She looked about 14 or 15 years old and was dressed head to toe in black, only her face was visible and was shielded by a thick mane of light brown hair. Slowly Adele approached the house, a quiet suburbian dwelling with neat lawns and nosy neighbours.

"Michelle Dawson?" She called out and the girl looked up, clearly startled. Through a part in her hair a pair of unusual fluorescent green eyes were visible with iris' that were elliptical rather than their usual round. She stood and moved towards the door with astonishing, cat-like agility.

"No wait please, Michelle are you parents home?" She asked and the girl nodded slowly. Smiling Adele moved forwards, hand extended.

"My name in Adele McAllister and I am a teacher at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. We'd love to accept you into our institute, you have capabilities our school finds highly useful and would very much love to see extended." She said and the girl stopped. She gazed down at Adele warily.

"What are you?" She asked and Adele was interested to hear her voice. Soft and velvet, almost a purr.

"Right now I'm a teacher." Adele said and pointed to a flowerpot resting on the railing. Michelle's eyes widened as the pot lifted into the air, danced around as though suspended on strings before returning to its original position. Her mouth was open as Adele stepped forward, hand still extended. She took it tremulously.

"My parents are inside, please come in." She said and Adele smiled as she was lead inside.

Alex dodged the dumpster being thrown directly at his head.

"Shit!" He said and restarted the chase. The boy ahead of him kept pounding the pavement, not even stopping to see if his two ton projectile had hit its intended target. Alex worked his energy and sent another tiny bolt into the wall (mimicking a bullet) to the boy's right forcing him left into a side alley and towards his awaiting friends.

"This had better work or I am going to kick some major ass when I get home." He muttered and sprinted after the kid. 100 metres down a shout of alarm could be heard as the boy ran into Hank. Trapped the boy faced his two pursuers, terror like nothing Alex had ever seen before written across his face.

"I'm warning you, stay away or I will kill you." He announced and reached out to lift a heavy looking bar, a stainless-steel construction bar, from the floor. Twirling it as easily as a blade of grass the blonde haired boy was literally shaking with suppressed fright. Alex felt bad for the guy, who looked no older than himself.

"William, please put it down. We only want to talk to you." Alex called out and the boy laughed.

"Yeah, then drag me to prison." He said but Hank's appearance was obviously confusing him. Alex laughed.

"Yeah right, and have you simply pry the bars apart and waste government funds? I don't think so." Alex said and stepped forwards, the bar sang as it whipped through the air.

"All I'm offering is a clean bed, food and a safe place where you don't have to hide who you are." Alex said and the kid stared him up and down.

"What's the catch?" He demanded and Alex was glad to hear Charles' voice as he finally caught up to them.

"There's no catch William… we just want to help." He said quietly and the boy suddenly stiffened.

"Who did that?" He demanded and Charles smiled.

"As I said William, we are here to help you… my name is Charles Xavier, will you come with us?" He asked and the boy paused for the longest time. The bar lowered.

"You guys said food right?" He asked and Alex grinned.

"All you can at." He announced and the boy ginned.

Hank was slightly nervous as he approached the two Asian children sitting on the steps of their house. Twins, he presumed. Both looked around 12 and had the same black hair and gentle features. They were playing a game of chess, but what surprised him was the lack of actual moves on the game set. The little girl had her eyes closed and the little boy was staring unblinkingly at the games set before him but neither made a move apart from sighs of disappointment or smiles of triumph. Never looking around they spoke in unison.

"Hello Hank McCoy." They chirped at him as he approached. He froze.

"Hello. It would seem you already know my name… do you know why I'm here?" He asked ad the two paused in the mental game and turned to look, the boy flicking his king down in disgust.

"Of course, you have a proposition for us Dr. McCoy." The young girl, Anna, said to him and smiled up into his blue face. Both stood and faced him.

"We have both decided to agree to you idea, we have discussed this with our parents and they have yet to discover an argument that will deter us." The boy called Ben stated. Hank smiled and waited as the two grabbed their bags and headed to towards him. They followed him up the gang way and Hank saw Adele watching the two quite closely. Anna looked over at her and quirked a slim brow.

"Miss Adele, your questions can be answered soon, but I suggest we hurry to our next port of call… it seems the poor thing is in a spot of trouble." She said calmly and rather than jumping at the young things rather unusual prophecy the telekinetic simply nodded and returned to her seat.

The next stop was actually a police station. Adele and Charles decided to tackle this one together. Pushing Charles along Adele smiled at the progress they had made today. With this girl they would have five students and she couldn't wait to take them home.

"We did it Charles." She whispered and he sighed.

"What's wrong?" She demanded and he shook his head. He stared out into the deserted parking lot, searching for something… or someone. Immediately Adele whirled around. She stretched out her psychic feelers and immediately found a mutant nearby using her powers, but not the one inside the police station.

"Charles leave her be… she doesn't want to talk to us." Adele whispered and her voice cracked.

"She's my sister Elle, I have to try." He murmured. Adele placed a hand on his shoulder and waited. Rae's energy aura was fading, she was moving away.

"Let her go Charles, when she'd ready she'll come." She said and he nodded. Pressing a kiss to his forehead she resumed there entrance into the station. The guard on desk duty frowned at them when they asked for the gir

"You don't look like her parents." He said doubtfully.

"We're not, but we are legal guardians of the state and Phoebe needs to come back." Charles said and the man shook his head.

"Good luck, the girl's a menace." He said bitterly and Adele frowned.

"No she is not, she is misunderstood and scared now will you let us through or do I need to speak to your superior?" She demanded and the man's frown deepened.

"This way." He muttered and led them to the cells.

"You have fifteen minutes to convince her." The guard said and left. The red haired girl inside looked up at them dully.

"I do want your money, your charity or any preaching if that's what you're here for." He said and her voice rumbled like an open fire. Charles pressed a finger to his temple and the girl jumped. Looking at the appraisingly she watched them warily. Adele leaned down and looked through the bars.

"Why are you here Phoebe?" She asked and Phoebe looked scared.

"I hurt people, whenever I get scared or angry, I hurt people. It's better to stay away than do… that." She said but Adele smiled comfortingly through the bars.

"Your gift doesn't have to hurt people Phoebe, you can use it to help people… come with us and we'll show you how." Adele whispered and the girl's eyes peered at her hopefully.

"What's your name?" She asked and Adele faltered. Why hadn't she said so in the first place, inwardly hitting herself she smiled at Phoebe.

"Adele McAllister and this is Charles Xavier. We run a school for mutants." She said and the girl looked puzzled.

"Mutants?" She asked and Charles stepped I.

"Yes, you are a mutant… a homo sapien with increased biological function due to genetic mutation. Just like us you have a gift, right now you are scared to use it but trust us when we say that we can help you. We want to help you Phoebe… it doesn't have to be like the orphanage I promise." He said and the jumped.

"How did you know about that?" She demanded angrily and Adele reached out.

"Please Phoebe, we're like you. Charles is what we call a telepath… a very powerful one. Right now you are sending him enough mental information that even I can pick some of it up. We never had to research the accident you gave us al the information we needed." She said and the girl looked terrified.

"What are you?' She demanded and Adele sighed.

"I'm a teacher; I have an English Literature Degree from Cambridge University… I want you understand I only want to help you." She said and Phoebe sat down.

"Can you help me?" She asked and Adele paused.

"That's up to you, we can give you the tools but it's up to you to actually use them." Se said and Phoebe nodded.

"Alright, you've convinced me but I just ant to know one thing…" She said and Adele paused as she opened the cell door, without a key. Phoebe's eyes widened. A finger to her lips Adele beckoned for her to come.

"Never mind." The small red head said and the three of them carefully left the building, unnoticed.

It was around one in the morning by the time Adele and Charles got to bed. They had managed to persuade 11 young mutants to come with them. There were still countless others but right now 11 would be enough to run the experiment. Tomorrow was a the 20th of December and Charles had announced that the school year wouldn't start until after Christmas, this had been met with delighted cheers. Adele slowly changed out of her official looking outfit of grey pencil shirt, cotton blouse and sensible black heels and into her ancient pajamas.

"Seriously?" Charles called from the bed and she whirled around to glare at him.

"What?" She demanded and he chuckled. Pointing at the outfit she wore he chuckled slightly.

"You still have it." He mused and she flushed. Looking down at the old shirt she smiled as the distant memory returned.

"It was my first date… even if it was with the boy next door and his sister." She said and moved to slide into bed. She switched off the light and snuggled into Charles side.

"Didn't I win that?" He asked and she smiled.

"Yes, you predicted fifteen rounds of reading a fortunetellers mind… they had to give you something to stop you from ruining their business." She said and he laughed.

"Oh yes, now I remember… the circus when we were 15." He said and she smiled and nodded.

"I was so excited, even though we were friends I still counted it as my first official date." She said and blushed.

"I'm glad, I wouldn't have wanted to come second in that department… I get rather possessive of my things." He growled and she giggled. His hand crept to her waist ad she shivered as his fingers traced nonsensical patterns on her skin.

"Charles… there are people around now." She said and felt him grin.

"Good, they should now what's mine by now." He said and she gasped as his lips attacked the weak spot at the junction of her neck and shoulder. He nipped it and she moaned, her hips rising off the bed as waves of pleasure rolled through.

"You asked for it." She said harshly and ripped his shirt off in her hurry to ease the slow, building ache at her core.

**How am I doing folks? Please review!**


	11. Ghost of Christmas Past

**Eleven**

**Alright quick little splurge. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story, I can't name you all but I wan each and every one of you to know that this story would not have continued without your support… enjoy this chapter, bear with me cause I'm running on empty but let me know if you like or if you don't.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Marvel characters, Adele and the mutant students that are unfamiliar to any of you are mine and that is all.**

"_Full wattage Nurse." A cold, detached voice commanded and Adele screamed as the electrical wave was sent crashing through her body. She twisted and writhed against the restraints that held her to the metal gurney, tears of agony streaming down her face. _

"_No response sir." The voice was female this time, a rough German accent thickening the Polish syllables. _

"_Impressive. Let off the power, I want her alive after all." The man continued and the pain died down, but not her sobs. Adele lay sunned on the hard metal surface and stared up in agony at the tall, birdlike doctor above her who chuckled darkly and prodded her chest lightly with the tip of his pencil. _

"_Now you've had a taste of what we've got to throw at you. Comply and it will stop, keep defying us and I will personally make sure you will want to die before we're through with you." He said and she collected saliva from her dried up throat and mouth before launching it directly into his face._

"_Go directly to hell." She said and he cursed her, slapping her across the face and sending her vision white. When the fog cleared she was still on the gurney and she peered down at her body to find it covered in tubes and wires. She tried to let out a tangled scream, muffled due to the strap in her mouth, and tried to move her arms and legs. Nothing. Not a single movement. Her eyes flew wide in horror as she realised that the tubes and wires were actually doing all her living for her. Each tube was implanted over her stomach and performing the task of her organs, the oxygen entering her lungs was being forced and retrieved by a beeping machine beside her. _

_Oh my God, please, please just kill me. She begged and tears came to her eyes. So she could cry, excellent. She couldn't talk, breathe or even eat without one of these blood machines but they'd left her with the ability to cry… how fucking generous. A door opened and her eyes flicked towards it to see the doctor enter the room, followed by a pretty blonde nurse who smirked at Adele as she entered. Another gurney was behind them and Adele's eyes widened… _

A terrified scream left her as she sat bolt upright. Adele couldn't see anything but that cold, neon-lit room and her arms wrapped around her knees instinctively as she began to rock, whispering to herself.

"Elle." A tight, gentle voice called and she whirled around to see Charles sitting up next to her, his brown hair mussled with sleep and his vivid blue eyes aching with sadness. He stretched out a hand but she shrank away, still seeing her nightmare. His expression changed from hurt to fury in less than a millisecond. She winced as he approached but as the terror faded remembered where she was and with whom she now shared a bed. His arms wrapped around her shaking shoulders with all the softness of a woolen comforter and she stiffly lay her head on his chest. His hands were running through her tangled hair and she could feel his lips moving against her forehead.

"Oh Elle, it was only a dream… you're safe here." He murmured and she nodded. The terror had faded to be replaced by shame. She felt like a child, scared of memories and darkness when nothing could ever hurt her. The feeling overwhelmed her and she shoved him away violently to roll off the bed and onto the floor.

"Elle, please." She heard him call but she shook her head and kept her back turned as she moved to the window, pulling the curtain back and peering out onto the expansive lawns of Xavier Mansion.

_Elle, for God's sake don't run from me._

**Stay out of my head Charles. I mean it!**

_No, if you won't tell me out loud… I'm sorry but I love you too much to see you like this._

**I carry a lot of excess baggage Charles… **

_I don't care._

**You should.**

_But I don't and I will never, ever turn you away Elle._

**Charles, you say their just dreams but…**

_They are… in a way._

**The problem with that Charles is that I know it all happened… that it could still be happening somewhere.**

_What could be happening?_

**I… I don't wa...**

_Not on your life Elle, how can we keep living like this? How can I believe in us when you don't trust me enough to talk to me?_

**Charles please don't, I love you**

_And I love you but that's not what the problem is._

**I promise I'll tell you, just not tonight.**

_Why?_

**Because… God Charles I'm so scared.**

_Oh Elle. Come here._

She turned to see him looking at her, his eyes filled with compassion and overwhelming love. With a small sob she flung herself at him and wrapped her arms around his waist. His arm came around her as he pulled her to him as close as he could.

"Don't cry Elle, its Christmas in a few days…" He said and she chuckled.  
>"Oh yes and Christmas is such an occasion not to cry." She said darkly and he frowned.<p>

"That's exactly what it is Elle, for some of these kids it's going to be their first proper Christmas." He said and she nodded tiredly.

"I know, you won't let me put up that bloody tree remember?" She teased and he smiled down at her.

"Of course… I nearly got a few ornaments to the face thanks to you." He said and she smirked.

"That'll teach you to boss me around besides; the children seem to think it was hilarious." She joked and he sighed.

"I was doomed from the start." He said and she shook her head.

"Say that after first term, physics homework's a killer." She said and he grinned wickedly.

"Oh yes, I forgot about that." He said and she sighed.

"Only you could forget the torture that was homework during high school Charles." She said and he brought her closer.

"It wasn't all bad, as I recall you spent the best part of it trying to help me not flunk English." He said and she grinned.

"Honestly Charles you can take apart a subatomic particle or name every chemical protein that creates a DNA strand but God forbid should you be able to put together a decent comparative essay." She teased and he frowned.

"They weren't that bad." He protested and she gave a look that obviously told him to rephrase that sentence. Silence fell and Adele shuddered.

"What is it?" He asked and she shook her head.

"Nothing, just bad memories." She said and he sighed. She snuggled into him and he pressed a kiss to her lips. She returned it with warmth and smiled as they broke apart.

"Getting fainter." She announced and he grinned. His fingers traced intricate patterns on her stomach and thighs and she moaned quietly.

"Fainter." She mumbled and the smirk broadened. He kissed her again and the warm spread down into her core. Reluctantly she moved away and chucked at the abandoned look in his eyes.

"Uh uh you poor sex-starved fiend, not now… we've got to get ready for today." She said and he frowned.

"What's today?" He demanded and she smirked.

"Christmas shopping." She announced and the last traces of arousal slipped of his face to be replaced by a look of abject terror.

"God help me." He muttered and she collapsed into hysterical laughter.

As it happened they attracted a small crowd when they announced their plan at breakfast. Hank volunteered to stay at the mansion to look after the place and the remaining kids. Alex and Sean had hightailed it to the lab, eager to escape the dreaded word 'shopping' and deserting a rather dour looking Charles. In the end he'd been excused by Adele when Phoebe and Michelle volunteered to accompany her to town, Anna had decided not to after a cryptic remark leaving everyone at the chaotic table slightly on edge.

"You won't need me." She'd said and the enormous table had quieted slightly.

"You'll have plenty of help." She said and her twin nodded briskly while stuffing a strip of bacon into his mouth. Adele rolled her eyes and gazed around the crowded table. 15 faces looked back.

"Fine. I'm leaving in 2 minutes." She said and was wished hearty good lucks all around.

"Traitors." She muttered as she left and the laughter that brought had a smile plastered to her face before she stepped out of the house with her two victims. Michelle, dressed in her customary black, stepped quickly into the awaiting car while Phoebe stared at it reluctantly.

"Come on Bee." Adele encouraged and the fiery haired girl scowled.

"Aren't you worried I'll wreck your car?" She demanded and Adele shrugged.

"A little but I'm more worried bout Charles' bank account by the time I'm done shopping today." She said chirpily and smirked at the young girl.

"Oh Bee I'm only joking… if anything I'll probably crash this bloody thing and then Charles will have to by a new one with his slim earnings." She said dramatically, throwing a hand to her forehead and feigning melodrama. The girl couldn't help but smile a little and Adele chuckled.

"Come on, it's going to be hell finding a parking spot but I'll manage." She said and the three were soon off. Michelle and Phoebe chatted comfortably in the back, Adele was happy the two got along. Such polar opposites yet perfectly suited for each other. Michelle forced Phoebe to be the natural leader that she was and Phoebe brought out an inner confidence in the slightly younger girl neither knew had existed.

"I don't know, none of the boys here are really that attractive." Phoebe said smartly, tossing her hair in irritation.

"Besides there all scared of me." She said and Adele snorted.

"Not worth it when their too scared to speak to you…" The older woman said and the two of them stared at her. She smiled in the review mirror.

"Oh yes I may be ancient but I know a thing or two about men." She said seriously. They raised their eyebrows.

"Sure you do." They said and she smirked.

"Please, you think it was easy snagging Charles… I've know him almost my entire life and we started dating as of two months ago.' She said smartly and the two girl shrieked.

"Professor Xavier?" Michelle demanded and she nodded.

"Oh my Gosh." She muttered and Phoebe also looked a little stunned.

"But isn't it… hard doing… stuff." She asked and Adele snorted quietly. Feigning innocence she decided to screw with them a little.

"Stuff? I don't understand." She said and the two girls stared at each other awkwardly.

"You know Miss McAllister… 'stuff'." Phoebe said finally and Adele shook her head.

"Call me Adele please and no, there's a lot of stuff in the world… you're going to have to be more specific." She said and turned her attention to the road. He two girls groaned.

"Come on, you and the professor… have you two…" She decided to put them out of their misery.

"How old are you two?" She demanded and Phoebe looked affronted.

"I'm seventeen." She said and Adele nodded.

"I'm fifteen." Michelle said and Adele smirked.

"Then you're too young to be hearing about what I do with your Professor after hours." She said and they shrieked again. She smirked and suddenly breaked hard. Her eyes flew wide at the sight of a familiar blonde standing on the side of the road ahead. With barely an explanation to the two girl in the back she flew out of the car and ran towards Raven who, catching onto her intent turned to flee.

"Rae, don't you dare run away from me again!" Adele demanded angrily and the younger woman stopped dead. Reaching her finally Adele spun her around and flung her arms around her best friend. After a split second Rae also hugged her and the two were definitely in tears when they drew apart. She looked beautiful and there was a sparkle in her eye when Adele searched their depths.

"Oh Rae, you look so happy." She said and Rae smiled.

"So do you… are you and Charles…?" She trailed off and Adele grinned.

"We're all good, thanks to you." She said and Rae squealed.

"Oh God Del I'm so happy for you both… how is he?" She asked and Adele sighed.

"Coping, he misses you so much Rae." She said and the blonde flinched.

"I can't stay long, Erik is on the move again… I only have a few minutes before I'm getting picked up." She said and Adele nodded.

"Alright Rae just be careful, I can't lose you." She said and hugged her best friend again.

"Why were you at the police station?" She asked and Adele smiled. Telling her all about the school she and the boys had created Adele was rewarded with an excited smiled from Rae who flung a look at the abandoned car.

"I take it those two are with you?" She said and Adele nodded.

"Students helping me with bloody Christmas shopping." She said gruffly and Rae smiled.

"Bah Humbug right?" She said cheekily and Adele cuffed her lightly on the head.

"Alright sorry." Se said and Adele smiled.

"Take care Rae, I love you so much you beautiful girl." She said and Rae's eyes filled with tears.

"I love you too Del, tell Charles I said hello and the same to him." She begged and Adele nodded. A red swirl appeared beside them and Adele stared up at the towering Azazul and smiled.

"Nice to see you too." She joked and Rae snorted.

"Tell Erik I said hello and to watch his weight, he's not going to stay young and fit forever." Adele teased and Rae frowned.

"Hey, lay off my man Del… only I'm allowed to tease him." She said and Adele winked.

"If you think so." She said and in a flash she was staring into thing air. Sighing she turned around and ran back to the still running car. She explained to the girls that Rae was a friend and they were not to tell anyone about seeing her.

"Why?" Phoebe demanded and Adele fixed her a fierce look in the review mirror.

"Because, some people at home won't take kindly to hear she was here." She said and the two girls nodded.

"Alright, let's go torture Adele with gift wrap." She said and the two girls chuckled.

"It's not funny, Christmas paper it the main cause of paper cuts all around the world." She said and the three of them remained stone faced for a whole of two seconds before exploding into laughter which didn't stop until the end of the trip. The trip past slowly, it took them an entire afternoon to find enough presents and gift wrap them away from the rest of the group. By the end of the day the boot and back seat of the car was stockpiled with wrapped presents and all three was exhausted. The two girls had fallen asleep against each other in the back and Adele was even fighting off a yawn by the time she rolled the car through the manor gates. The place was ablaze with light and snow was everywhere, covering the usually grubby gravel in a clean blanket of pure white. Chuckling she stopping the engine and got out of the car. The girls stirred sleepily but were waved away when they went to pick up the presents. Smiling Adele picked the enormous pile of gifts from the depths of the car and lofted them away into the house towards the library. A cry of alarm stopped her and she turned to see all the children making their way towards her.

"Hello, I've got presents." She announced and they smiled.

"Finally." A small green skinned boy announced happily and she grinned.

"You can't come in." William announced suddenly and Adele raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry, Professors orders… I'll take these, come on guys." He said to the surrounding children who all grabbed a few gifts each and headed back the way they'd come. Staring after them Adele shook her head.

"Fine, I'm just going to make some dinner alright?" She called after them but not a reply reached her lips.

"Odd." She said but decided to press Charles with it later. She headed to the kitchen and for the next hour as busy preparing dinner of sixteen people. When that was done she rang the recently installed bell system and carried the steaming plates upstairs, the sixteen dishes hovering behind her in an amusing ghostly procession. Dinner was as chaotic as ever. All sixteen trying to be heard at once and food getting flown across the room at random intervals assured ultimate entertainment for an entire meal. They were in the largest of the dinning rooms but the huge room barely seemed big enough to house the squabble of children and adults. Adele sat beside Charles and during the course of the meal received a few glances from some of the older students that told her telling a seventeen and fifteen year old you're sleeping with their professor is probably not the best idea. Or it wouldn't be if she cared, she merely smiled and placed a gentle kiss to Charles' cheek smiling when he jumped about a foot into the air. Her hand found his and he smiled into her eyes, raising her knuckles to his lips in a tender movement that sent tingles down her spine. With dinner over the younger students had half an hour before bed and the older ones an hour. For adults and the oldest of students there was no real bed time but it was expected that loud noises after 10 were kept to a minimum. Children fled the dinning room followed closely by their guardians, Hank and Sean, who had drawn the short straws this evening and were now spending the next hour supervising 9 young mutants. William and Phoebe were allowed to wander where they wished, disappearing a moment later together in the direction of the library. Alex stretched and told them he was hitting the sack.

"I've been up since the bloody crack of dawn with all these bloody kids, don't they ever sleep?" He demanded and Adele shrugged.

"Just be grateful we don't have any under the age of three." She said and he shuddered.

"You are so handling that." He said and she smiled.

"Fine." She said and a saddening thought hit her, wiping the smile from her face as she wearily collected the plates. Charles saw it and rolled over his arms wrapped around her middle. She sighed quietly before she turned to face him cheekily.

"Honestly Charles there are children in this house, can't you cease your endless fondling for five minutes?" She teased and he grinned. He reached out and stroked a stray strand of her dark hair back form her face and she leaned in to peck him chastely on the lips. Plates and boyfriend in tow she headed to the kitchen. He watched her clean up in silence and under his constant stare she suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable.

"Charles…" She warned and he sighed.

"Are you sure you're not a telepath?" He asked and she nodded.

"I'm fine Charles. Alex just reminded me of something I'd rather not." She said and he frowned.

"You'd rather not think about taking care of small children?" He queried and she frowned.

"Charles, there is nothing I'd love more… I use to babysit remember?" She asked and he nodded.

"Oh I always thought that was an excuse not to talk to me." He said and she giggled.

"But of course." She said and he placed a hand against his chest, feigning hurt.

"My love your words cut deep." He said and she grinned. She let the water drain away and cleared up any remaining stuff in the kitchen before walking out with Charles.

"What did Alex make you think of?" He asked and she flinched.

"Pain." She said simply and he frowned.

"Let's just drop it, one day when I can talk about it I promise I will but… I just can't now." She said and he smiled and nodded. She yawned and he chuckled.

"Hey I never claimed I was an owl… I've been shopping all day remember?" She snarled and he raised his hands in surrender and she pushed upstairs. They passed Hank and Sean who were trying to convince a crying child to go to bed.

"Excuse me, men at work." She said and moved towards the small child.

"Hey there Baby… what's wrong?" She asked the tiny girl who looked up at her sadly. She blinked and a second set of amphibian like eyelids flicked. Adele smiled at her adorable expression and held out her arms. The little girl, who was about six years old, clambered into her embrace and rested her head against Adele's shoulder.

"Baby," She murmured and the little girl nodded.

"How about I tuck you in? I'm going to bed too.' She said and the little girl perked up immediately. Hank and Sean sighed in relief and escorted the remaining children out of the room towards the dormitories and Adele moved back to where Charles sat waiting.

"We're making a pit stop" She said and he grinned.

"Fine by me." He said and smiled up at Baby who shyly hid her face into Adele's hair. She whispered something and Adele frowned.

"There's nothing wrong with your name Baby." She said and the little girl shook her head vigorously. Adele pushed Charles along with one hand, while the other secured the little girl to her hip as they moved to the dormitories. Noise up ahead told them they were close and Charles waved her away.

"I'll see you later." He said and rolled himself away. She walked with Baby to her room and entered the chaotic zone with more than a little trepidation. Children were swinging from the walls and ceiling while others were jumping around excitedly on the beds, driving her friends to distraction.

"Cover your ears." She told Baby who complied. Bringing her fingers to her lips Adele let fly a piercing whistle that instantly settled the entire room to the audicy of a tomb. Children looked at her in shock and she stared around the room amusedly.

"Bed. Now." She ordered and there was a mad scrabbled for the beds. Carrying a sleepy Baby to her pink sheeted bed Adele set the little girl down and pressed a small kiss to her forehead. This lead to an enormous chorus of 'I want one too' and other such things.

"I want to be called Froggy." She heard the little girl murmur sleepily and smiled.

"Alright Froggy, goodnight my darling." She said before sweeping around the silent room with goodnight kisses for everyone. The men had vacated the room and Adele paused at the door.

"Goodnight my darling children; sleep well." She called and in perfect syncronisation the children answered.

"Goodnight Miss Adele." They chirped and she grinned, flicking off the light and heading to bed.

Christmas dawned bright an early and Adele groaned as she rolled over. A moment later she was crushed beneath a grinning Charles, who had her arms trapped above her head and her body pinned against the mattress. She moaned sleepily and frowned at him.

"Charles, I was sleeping." She complained and he smiled.

"Now your not." He pointed out and she snorted.

"Of course not, I have you lying on top of me." She said and he grinned.  
>"It's not a common thing though is it?" He said and she smiled.<p>

"No, I'm usually on top." She said darkly and he chuckled nervously, a faint blush speckling his cheeks. She grinned cheekily. Slowly she moved her hips against his, eliciting a faint groan from his lips and feeling him hardened above her.

"Good morning to you too." She said and the blush deepened.

"Elle… I can't." He said suddenly and pulled away. He rolled off her and she frowned, sitting up and moving to hug his shoulders from behind. She placed a kiss to his temple.

"Merry Christmas Charles." She said and he smiled.

"Ready to face the horde?" He asked and she grinned.

"Are you?"

"No." They answered in unison and collapsed into tight laughter. Adele knew there was something wrong but with Charles still laughing and joking with her she couldn't say anything.

"Alright love birds get out here and help us keep these kids from desimating the library!" Alex's voice called through the door and Adele jumped off the bed and stripped down to her underwear. A spluttering from behind her caused her to giggle as she posed before their wardrobe and pulled out a new forest green dress and pulling a pair of sensible flat shoes to match. She ran a brush through her hair and twirled it into a messy bun before racing to the door.

"Hold on, I may be in a wheel chair but I am a gentleman and gentlemen don't let beautiful ladies accompany themselves to Christmas breakfast." He said sternly, pulling a shirt on and tightening the dark blue tie around his neck. When he was done they headed downstairs. It was chaos but the delight of the day was so poignant on the children's faces no one had the heart to tell them off. Far too quickly for her liking Adele found the group finishing and stood to clear up.

"Oh no you don't, your coming with me… the kids will clean up." Charles said and the kids all nodded.

"Yeah, we'll do it." They answered and rushed off with Sean and Alex to the kitchen. She stared after them amazed.

"Well I'll be God damned." She said and turned to grin at Charles.

"That's the last time I'm clearing up after a meal, they can all do it themselves after this." She said and relaxed in her chair.

"Come on Adele." Hank said and she smiled. She allowed him to escort her from the room. He took her around the house, showing off all the new ideas for the school he had planned. When at last they reached the library her head was spinning with elevators, classrooms and dumb waiters galore. Hank smiled as she placed a kiss to his cheek.

"Merry Christmas Hank." She said and he winked.

"No, Merry Christmas to you Adele." He said and flung the doors open.

"Merry Christmas!" A chorus of voices called through and she gasped as the previously forbidden library was finally revealed to her. The place was decked in decorations and the enormous tree beside the fire sparkled like a jewel. The kids were all there, smiling and waving excitedly as she stared around the room in amazement.

"What is this?" She asked and Charles rolled forward.

"You've done everything for us, now it's our turn." He said and she frowned.

"Now don't…" She began but was cut off by Charles who knocked her over and caught her squarely on his lap, placing a firm kiss on her lips and effectively cutting off any further protest.

"You rouge." She whispered affectionately as he wheeled them over to a couch. She settled on it and watched the kids, who seemed to receive a secret signal, unwrapping their presents with cries of delight. She was hugged, kissed and climbed on for the next hour as each gift was de-papered and announced wonderful. She peered over at Charles who ginned and relaxed on the couch, reminding her of numerous Christmas' past.

"Merry Christmas." She murmured and he smiled.

"This is all for you my love, you built this place from the ground up… regardless of whether or not it was my idea." He said as she tried to protest again. She frowned playfully and leaned to kiss him soundly. A cough broke them apart when it turned a little heated. Turning they saw Hank grinning at them and Alex chuckling madly.

"Honestly, even on Christmas they go at it like rabbits." He crowed and a small child passed and piped up.

"What does that mean?" He asked and Charles and Adele burst into hysterical laughter as Ale tried to avoid a prepubescent birds ad bees talk.

"There's a reason, other than maintaining childhood innocence, I broke you two off… there's a woman at the door for you Adele, she says she knows you from Poland and… she doesn't look too good." He said and she froze. Clambering off the couch faster than they'd ever seen her move she raced to the door of the library and down the corridor. Approaching the door at a sprint she crashed into it and wrenched it open. Standing on the front step, thin arms wrapped around a tiny bundle of pink cloth, stood a young woman Adele had never thought she'd see again. The woman smiled thinly up at her, snow dusting the top of her straggled brown hair as she pulled the scarf tighter around the scarred face.

"Hello Adele McAllister, I have come for my favour." She said and her thick Polish accent resonated through Adele's brain as she stood in shock in the doorway.

**Dun Dun Dun! Who is this mysterious person and what does she want? Reviews are as always welcome and I look forward to any feedback. Happy New Year everyone!**


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